Filing Your Taxes Close to the Deadline? Beware of Tax Scams Waiting for You

Those who wait until tax time to file their return (the deadline is April 15) not only need to avoid mistakes but also need to beware of tax scammers preying on their worries and anxiety.

While tax scammers start laying their traps when the new year begins, they also aggressively target people as April begins and the tax deadline looms. They know that there are plenty of targets, maybe their best ones, in the last few weeks of tax season. The statistics prove it:

• More than one-third of Americans are considered “last-minute filers,” according to the IRS.
• Around 30% of people honestly admit to procrastinating about filing their taxes.
• As many as 10% to 15% of people file for extensions, meaning they’ll wait to file their taxes after April 15…for a slight fee.

You know who else is aware of these statistics now besides you? Fraudsters and con artists. In fact, you can say they’re counting on those numbers staying the same every year.

Scammers are willing to wait to trap you.

Cybersecurity experts warn that scammers are aggressively targeting taxpayers as the tax deadline looms. And they’ll have plenty of people to choose from—millions of people. Here’s a look:

• One-quarter of us wait till the half-month. Close to 25% of taxpayers plan to file in April.
• Last-minute action. Most of those late filers admitted to waiting “till the very last minute” to file.
• The days dwindle down. Statistics indicate that around 14% get busy during the so-called “tax week” (the week leading up to April 15), with 7% finalizing their filing on the last day.

The dangers of waiting. (Scams are just one of them.)

Filing taxes is stressful for nearly everyone. For starters, it has to be done. There are penalties to pay—literally—if you file late. Also, if someone rushes through their taxes, especially if their situation is complex, the risk of making a mistake or simply not knowing the tax laws can cause problems that can certainly come back to haunt them.

Then, of course, there are the scammers, who are swimming around like sharks as April 15 approaches, waiting to take a chomp out of those taxpayers who don’t realize they’re in scam-infested waters.

If you’re part of this last-second crowd, you need to follow the advice to keep you safe with the IRS and out of the hands of con artists.

Beware of calls, messages (and threats!) from IRS impersonators.

For last-minute filers, this should be your biggest concern. And the first thing you should be aware of is that the IRS does not proactively call citizens during tax season to offer assistance as April 15 approaches…or to warn you not to be late.

When it comes to paying your taxes, it’s up to you alone—or with the help of a tax professional—to get your taxes done and filed on time with an extension.

What can you do to stay safe?

Here are the rules you can follow to stay safe if you’re planning to file your taxes right around the deadline:

1. Do not respond to suspicious messages. If you get a text message or phone call from someone claiming to be from the IRS, ignore it. It’s certainly a scam.
2. Do not click on links in messages from “the IRS.” Remember,  no matter how realistic an IRS message may seem or sound (with all the right logos and tone), it’s likely fraudulent. If you click on a link, you’re headed down a path toward becoming a scam victim.
3. Do not give in to threats. Sometimes, no matter how prepared we think we are to avoid a scam, our emotions can get the better of us. Scammers count on that, which is why they use fear and threats (subtle or not) to manipulate our emotions. That’s why many people who fear getting in trouble with the IRS fall for these scams.

If you want to know more about why scams fool so many of us, read our article on how our emotions can lead us into a trap.

If you’re a victim of a scam, you should report it.

Maybe you’ve been scammed in the past or know someone who has. If so, it needs to be reported. The problem is, most people don’t know where to turn. To help everyone out, we’ve put together a comprehensive list of the organizations where you can and should report a scam.

Where to report IRS impersonator scams and more.

Even if you don’t need to report a scam now, you should save the information for the future. Because sooner or later, a scam will hit close to home.

Stay informed about scams, security, and privacy issues.

To learn more about protecting yourself from scams and identity theft, visit our Learning Center and explore our articles and interviews on the topic.