~ Author – Kyle Prutz, Deluzio & Company, Staff Accountant II ~
In the ever-changing digital world we live in today, it is not uncommon for some individuals to try to take advantage of those who are less knowledgeable of how some processes work. With the passing of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, scammers are already in action attempting to defraud taxpayers out of their economic impact checks. Luckily, with just a little bit of knowledge, it is easy to expose these would be thieves.
Some things to be aware of when it comes to the economic impact checks that will stay these would be scammers. Scammers tend to stress certain keywords such as Stimulus, or Relief. They will stress how they can get checks delivered more quickly if taxpayers forfeit certain information. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) will not call, email, text, or use social media in an attempt to gather personal or banking information. The IRS will not send a check with instructions to call to verify any personal information before cashing. Nor will they ask a taxpayer to sign over any economic impact checks to them to satisfy tax payments or back taxes. Additionally, the IRS encourages taxpayers to forward these types of attempts to gather information, to phising@irs.gov. Taxpayers can learn more about suspected scams by visiting the IRS website at https://www.irs.gov/privacy-disclosure/report-phishing. Taxpayers can learn more about the economic impact checks at https://www.irs.gov/coronavirus.