{"id":73902,"date":"2016-03-01T09:29:20","date_gmt":"2016-03-01T14:29:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/?p=73902"},"modified":"2016-03-01T09:29:20","modified_gmt":"2016-03-01T14:29:20","slug":"dewine-warns-ohioans-of-irs-tax-scams","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/2016\/03\/01\/dewine-warns-ohioans-of-irs-tax-scams\/","title":{"rendered":"DeWine warns Ohioans of ‘IRS’ tax scams"},"content":{"rendered":"

VW independent\/submitted information<\/em><\/p>\n

COLUMBUS — Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine warns Ohioans about two of the most common tax-related scams reported to the Ohio Attorney General\u2019s Office: the \u201cIRS\u201d phone scam and tax identity theft.<\/p>\n

\"Attorney
Attorney General Mike DeWine<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The IRS phone scam generally begins with a call claiming the recipient is in trouble with the IRS and must call a certain phone number to avoid arrest or legal action. Eventually, the person is asked to send money or personal information to resolve the supposed problem.<\/p>\n

Since January 1, the Ohio Attorney General\u2019s Office has received more than 1,400 reports about IRS scams. Most people who report the scam haven\u2019t lost money, but nationally, since October 2013, more than 5,000 victims collectively have paid over $26.5 million as a result of the scam, according to the U.S. Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think many people hear \u2018IRS\u2019 and are scared to death,\u201d Attorney General DeWine said. \u201cScam artists rely on that. Sometimes they threaten you. They tell you how much you owe, tell you to buy a prepaid card, and ask you to give the card number over the phone. The real IRS won\u2019t call to demand immediate payment over the phone without ever sending you written information.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tax identity theft, another commonly reported problem, generally occurs when an imposter files a fraudulent tax return using someone else\u2019s Social Security number in order to obtain that person\u2019s tax refund. In 2015, the Ohio Attorney General\u2019s Consumer Protection Section received more than 700 complaints about tax-related identity theft (to resolve this type of identity theft, individuals generally must work with the IRS or state tax department).<\/p>\n

To avoid scams during tax season, consumers should take steps to protect themselves, including:<\/p>\n

File tax returns promptly<\/strong>. This makes it less likely that an imposter will be able to file a return in taxpayers\u2019 names to steal their refund.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t respond to threatening robocalls<\/strong>. People who receive an unexpected phone call from someone who threatens to arrest them for not paying taxes, should realize it\u2019s probably a scam. Don\u2019t respond to the call, and don\u2019t provide payment or personal information over the phone.<\/p>\n

Look into call-blocking options<\/strong>. Check with phone carriers and third-party services to determine whether call-blocking services could help stop unwanted calls.<\/p>\n

Make sure you trust your tax filer<\/strong>. Before giving out any personal information, check a tax preparer\u2019s credentials. For example, review information in the IRS\u2019s directory of federal tax return preparers.<\/p>\n

Protect information online<\/strong>. When entering sensitive tax information online, use a secure Internet connection; avoid using free public Wi-Fi. Be wary of email messages that appear to come from a legitimate organization but ask people to verify their information by clicking on a link or providing personal information. The message may be part of a phishing scam.<\/p>\n

IRS or U.S. Treasury impersonation scams can be reported to the U.S. Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration at www.treasury.gov\/tigta<\/a>\u00a0or 800.366.4484.\u00a0Tax identity theft should be reported to the IRS (for federal taxes) or the Ohio Department of Taxation (for state taxes).<\/p>\n

Consumers who want help detecting a potential scam should contact the Ohio Attorney General\u2019s Office at www.OhioAttorneyGeneral.gov<\/a> or 800.282.0515.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

VW independent\/submitted information COLUMBUS — Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine warns Ohioans about two of the most common tax-related scams reported to the Ohio Attorney General\u2019s Office: the \u201cIRS\u201d phone scam and tax identity theft. The IRS phone scam generally begins with a call claiming the recipient is in trouble with the IRS and must […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-73902","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-08-04 02:24:57","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73902","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=73902"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73902\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=73902"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=73902"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=73902"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}