Baton Rouge, LA -- (SBWire) -- 03/29/2011 -- With the tax season upon us, it's a time many scammers look to take advantage of tax payers by getting their hands on personal information. Attorney General Mike DeWine is warning Ohioans of a new electronic scam.
The Ohio Attorney General wants people to watch out for emails and letters that claim to be from the IRS, but are actually scams created to capture personal information. Jennifer Stocker, owner of the Ohio Tax Lady tax preparation company, says the IRS will never email you directly unless you have contacted them via email.
"If you ever receive an email from any government agency that you did not contact and give them your email address, don't respond to it. Contact your tax professional," Stocker said.
According to a release issued by DeWine, one Franklin County resident received an email that appeared to be from the IRS indicating the consumer was late submitting his W-2 form. The email instructed him to click on a link to send the updated form. Luckily, the consumer recognized that the email was a scam. Another man from Cuyahoga County reported receiving a phony 1099 form, stating he had won $61,000.
"There are some people out there that like to take advantage of people, like to steal from people, and unfortunately with modern technology, it makes it easier," Stocker explained. "You definitely want to keep your information in a locked filing cabinet. You want to make sure you do not give out your social security number to anyone. When picking up your tax return from a tax place, you should always have your driver's license. And if your tax preparer is not asking for that driver's license, there should be concern there."
http://www.wytv.com/content/news/local/story/AG-Warns-of-Internet-Tax-Scam/OYQn4dolF0KGUn_P9kwxQw.cspx
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