It’s that time of the year again: tax time. People will soon be receiving the proper forms in the mail, and soon thereafter, many will seek out assistance from a qualified professional so that their return is as good as it could be.
When you choose a purported expert to help you with your tax needs, you have to make sure that you’re not opening yourself up to potential financial fraud. To protect yourself, consider the tips available from a new report.
First, conduct some research if you’re taking your taxes to a given entity for the first time. Determine if that outfit has been around for awhile or if it has just sprung up. You’re going to be handing over a lot of sensitive information to this person, and if they’re not who they say they are, your financial security can be put at risk. Be diligent in your choice of tax helpers.
It’s not just the business helping you file that you have to be sure of. Other criminals may attempt to pass themselves off as the IRS in an email to gain access to your financial records and account details. Do not buy into these scams. The IRS wouldn’t send you an unprompted email demanding immediate payment by credit card, so please don’t buy into such scams. When in doubt, call the IRS directly to determine if there is a problem.
Finally, keep your Social Security number and all other sensitive details to yourself and those persons you know you can trust with that information.