Published: | Last Updated: October 8, 2024
Protecting Yourself from Social Media Scams and Identity Theft
In today’s digital age, scams and identity theft are increasingly prevalent, posting significant risks to individuals and businesses.
What do I need to know?
Inaccurate or misleading tax information is easy to circulate on social media, and the IRS has recently seen several examples of how bad actors are targeting taxpayers via social media channels. Fraudulent form filing and bad advice on social media are part of the IRS annual Dirty Dozen campaign – a list of 12 scams and schemes involving topics such as offering help creating online accounts, donating to fake charities, and claiming refunds and credits such as the Employee Retention Credit, that put taxpayers and the tax professional community at risk of losing money, personal information, data, and more.
Common types of social media schemes involve:
- Inaccurate or misleading tax advice; and
- Requesting taxpayers to send personal information to unverified sources on social media.
These sources may claim to be tax professionals, but they are not qualified to give tax advice. Unqualified tax return preparers may not follow ethical standards and may engage in fraudulent activities.
Resources
- Get Help: Identity Theft
- Letter 5071C
Did you know there is a Taxpayer Bill of Rights?
The taxpayer Bill of Rights is grouped into 10 easy to understand categories outlining the taxpayer rights and protections embedded in the tax code.
It is also what guides the advocacy work we do for taxpayers.