2011 was a record year for identity theft during the tax season. It looks like 2012 is looking to break that record. I cannot stress enough how important it is to be extremely cautious about who you talk to regarding anything tax related. I have already written a blog on what to do about the most
common phishing schemes. Here’s some information to keep you safe.
H&R Emerald Pre-paid Card Holders
If you have an
H&R Block Emerald Pre-paid Card, you may be particularly targeted by identity thieves. You may start receiving text messages claiming to be H&R Block. Whatever you do, do not respond to these text messages. No matter how urgent the text makes it sound, H&R Block is stating that you should not call the numbers in the texts or reply at all. I would go ahead and caution that you never heed any “urgent” text messages you get from anyone. Call numbers you already know to trust. As always, report anything phishy (pun completely intended) to
phishing@irs.gov.
Intuit Tax ID Scam
Be very wary of emails claiming to be from Intuit and especially the email address security@intuit.com. The header may be something along the lines of “Urgent update of tax information is requested” or give you a deadline to respond. Even frequent
Forbes contributor, Kelly Phillips (
@TaxGirl on Twitter) has been getting these. She states that these emails are looking for you tax identification number. This is what you should do regarding these:
- Do not reply. This is pretty obvious, but people still do it.
- Do not click on any links. They lead to viruses created to steal your identity.
- Forward the email to spoof@intuit.com to verify it’s really them.
- Delete the email from your inbox.
- If it does turn out to be a phishing scam, email the info to phishing@irs.gov.
As always, remember, the IRS will not be contacting you by phone or email. They definitely won’t be contacting you by text. If you get anything suspicious contact the IRS. Either email
phishing@irs.gov or call the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration at
(800) 366-4484.