Fraud
We’ve gone to great lengths to make sure your money, your identity and your accounts are safe and secure, but we also need your help.
If you suspect fraud on any of your AmeriServ accounts, contact us toll-free at 1-800-837-2265.
Timely Tips - Tax Fraud
Scammers mislead you about tax refunds, credits and payments. They pressure you for personal, financial or employment information or money. IRS impersonators try to look like us.
Watch out for:
- A big payday - If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Bad tax advice on social media may convince you to lie on tax forms or mislead you about credits you can claim.
- Demands or threats - Impersonators want you to pay “now or else.” They threaten arrest or deportation. They don’t let you question or appeal the amount of tax you owe.
- Website links - Odd or misspelled web links can take you to harmful sites instead of IRS.gov.
Common Tax Scams
Incorrect information on how to get a bigger refund misleads you to report fake income, federal income tax withholding and employers on Form W-2, Wage and Tax Statement.
Criminals also target businesses and payroll companies by email to steal Form W-2 data. They file fraudulent returns in other people’s names for refunds.
- IRS warns taxpayers of new filing season scams involving Form W-2 wages; those filing fake returns face potential penalties, investigation
- Dirty Dozen: Taking tax advice on social media can be bad news for taxpayers; schemes circulating involving tax forms
For tax professionals, businesses and payroll providers:
- Data theft information for tax professionals
- Form W-2/SSN Data Theft: Information for Businesses and Payroll Service Providers
- Protect your clients; protect yourself
- Identity theft for businesses
- Identity theft for tax professionals
Source: www.irs.gov
Incorrect information on how to get a bigger refund misleads you to claim credits you’re not eligible for. This leads to a delayed refund, audit or other consequences like fines or imprisonment.
Dishonest or uninformed tax preparers misrepresent rules for claiming credits. Aggressive advertising, mail and online sources mislead you to file an incorrect return. They charge large, upfront fees or a fee based on your refund amount.
Clean energy tax credits:
Employee Retention Credit (ERC):
- IRS alerts businesses, tax-exempt groups of warning signs for misleading Employee Retention scams; simple steps can avoid improperly filing claims
- IRS issues renewed warning on Employee Retention Credit claims; false claims generate compliance risk for people and businesses claiming credit improperly
- Employee Retention Credit
Fuel Tax Credit:
- Dirty Dozen: IRS warns about false Fuel Tax Credit claims; taxpayers should be wary of scammers, heightened review
- About Form 4136, Credit for Federal Tax Paid on Fuels
Sick and Family Leave credits; Schedule H refund:
- IRS warns taxpayers of new filing season scams involving Form W-2 wages; those filing fake returns face potential penalties, investigation
- About Form 7202, Credits for Sick Leave and Family Leave for Certain Self-Employed Individuals
- About Schedule H (Form 1040), Household Employment Taxes
Source: www.irs.gov
Don’t trust a tax preparer who:
- Doesn’t sign the return
- Falsifies tax information
- Puts your refund in their bank account
- Requires you to pay in cash or doesn’t give you a receipt
IRS reminds taxpayers: Choose a tax professional carefully
Source: www.irs.gov
Bad tax advice on social media can mislead you about your credit or refund eligibility. Influencers may convince you to lie on tax forms or suggest the IRS is keeping a tax credit secret from you. Social media posts may put you in touch with scammers.
- IRS warns taxpayers they may be scam victims if they filed for big refunds; misleading advice leads to false claims for Fuel Tax Credit, Sick and Family Leave Credit, household employment taxes
- IRS warns taxpayers about misleading claims about non-existent “Self-Employment Tax Credit”; promoters, social media peddling inaccurate eligibility suggestions
- Misleading social media advice leads to false claims for Fuel Tax Credit, Sick and Family Leave Credit, household employment taxes; FAQs help address common questions, next steps for those receiving IRS letters
- Dirty Dozen: Taking tax advice on social media can be bad news for taxpayers; schemes circulating involving tax forms
Source: www.irs.gov
If You Were Scammed
If you’re a victim of monetary or identity theft:
- Immediately stop interacting with the scammer
- Don’t send money or share personal information
- Contact your financial institution
- Follow the steps on IdentityTheft.gov
Get an Identity Protection PIN (IP PIN) to prevent scammers from filing a tax return in your name.
Set up an IRS tax account. Your account is securely protected with multifactor authentication. Nobody can view your account unless you authorize them. You can monitor your tax account activity anytime.
If your Social Security number (SSN) or individual tax identification number (ITIN) was stolen:
- Report it to IdentityTheft.gov
- Report it to us
- Consider reporting it to your state tax agency
Learn more about tax-related identity theft.
For more information on tax fraud, please visit irs.gov/help/tax-scams.
Best Practices
Maintain strong passwords.
Strong passwords make it extremely difficult to break into your accounts. Here are some tips to help:
- Avoid using words that are easily guessed, such as your child's name or your favorite sports team.
- Use the greatest combination of capital and lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols that a site will allow.
- Password managers are a great way to not only create strong, unique passwords - but they also store them securely so you don't need to remember them.
Check the site.
If you are banking or shopping online, check that the site you are using is security-enabled. Look for sites that start with "https://", which means that the site is taking extra precautions to help secure your information.
Connect carefully.
If you're at home, make sure your Wi-Fi network is password-protected so that outsiders cannot log onto your network and gather information. If you're in a public place that offers Wi-Fi access, be cautious of what you send over their network. Try to refrain from banking or other sensitive activities until you're in a more secure location.
Keep it current.
New computer viruses (and new versions of old ones) are being released all the time. So making sure you have the latest security software, web browser, and operating system updates are your best defenses against these threats. Often, you can set those updates to be automatically installed as soon as they become available.
