Michael Smith: Okay, I see it's the top of the hour. For those of you just joining welcome to
today's webinar, the Internal Revenue Service and Federal Trade Commission presents: Scams, Tax
Related Identity Theft and Identity Protection PIN. We're glad you're joining us today. My name
is Michael Smith, and I'm a Senior Stakeholder Liaison with the Internal Revenue Service. And
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Today's webinar is titled The Internal Revenue Service and Federal Trade Commission present:
Scams, Tax Related Identity Theft and the Identity Protection PIN. This webinar is scheduled for
approximately 75 minutes. Today, we'll be covering topics that you can see on this slide. We're
going to touch on common consumer and tax-related identity theft scams. Ways to identify methods
for reporting and recovering from identity theft. How identity thieves trick their victims into
providing personally identifiable and financial information. We'll also touch on the IRS Identity Protection Personal Identification Number Program, you'll hear that referred to as the IP PIN.
And then we'll also look at a few other things, how to avoid bad return preparers; resources to
protect yourself from identity thieves; we'll touch on the IRS's partnership with the security
summit; and lastly, you'll all have an opportunity to ask live questions during our live
question-and-answer session at the end. So let's dive into these topics. But first I want to
introduce our first speaker. Kelle Slaughter is the Identity Theft Program Manager for the
Federal Trade Commission. She is responsible for creating and implementing the agency's
coordinated strategy to combat, investigate, and help consumers avoid and recover from various
forms of identity theft. Not only does she have over 17 years of consumer protection experience,
but Kelle brings a great sense of humor and authentic truth-telling to the table. Kelle, if
you're all set, I will hand it over to you. Kelle Slaughter: Thank you, Michael, and thank you all
for joining us today. For those of you who don't know us, the Federal Trade Commission is the
nation's Consumer Protection Agency. We work to stop unfair, deceptive, or fraudulent practices
in the marketplace by conducting investigations and suing companies and individuals who broke
the law. We coupled that with education, where we tell people and businesses about scams we're
seeing, how to avoid, where to get help and how to report, which is why we are here today. This
week marks the FTC's Annual Identity Theft Awareness Week, where we feature a series of free
events like this one, focused on trending issues and identity theft, including how identity
theft can affect every community, and highlighting involving identity theft tactics. People
report identity theft to the Federal Trade Commission, but we know that only a fraction of the
people who experienced identity theft, actually report it. In 2021, we received 1.4 million
reports of identity theft. During the first three quarters of 2022, we've received over 900,000
identity theft reports. Reports of the last quarter of 2022 are still trickling in, and
ultimately, identity theft is a big problem for people in the United States. You may be asking
yourself; how does identity theft happen? Based on their reports to the Federal Trade
Commission, one of the more common ways that people may have their identity stolen is by a way of
imposter scams. In fact, imposter scams have remained the most common type of fraud reported to
FTC. In 2021, we received almost a million reports about identity scammers like fake government
agents, pretend grandkids, bogus sweethearts and others that took almost $2.3 billion from people
across the country, while there are many types of impersonator scams out there. In the first
three quarters of 2022, we received over 147,000 reports just on government imposter scams that
caused a loss of over $375 million. We hear a lot of people who supposedly gotten calls from
Social Security Administration, the IRS, FEMA, Immigration, FTC, or many other agencies out
there. In fact, many of you have probably had those pesky government impersonators calling you to
pretend that they're with a government agency. They call to get your personal information or
your money, sometimes both. Sometimes they give you an employee ID number to sound official. They
might even have information about you like your name and your home address. Sometimes they claim
you need to pay taxes or other fees. Or they might threaten you with arrest or a lawsuit, if you
don't pay a supposed debt. They ask you to pay by debit or prepaid gift card, wire transfer or
cryptocurrency. Often times, instead of that one-time payment being their goal, some imposters
might want your Social Security number or password because having that information can be even
more valuable. This may be a reminder for many of you who are tuning in today. But the bottom
line here is that government agencies won't call or email asking for money or personal
information or making threats if you don't pay or share your personal information. Only a
scammer would do that. The federal government simply won't and we can't take payment by gift
cards or wire transfer or cryptocurrency. And, the federal government will never ask for credit
card numbers over the phone. So, if someone calls saying they're from the government and they ask
for your credit card number, that's a red flag. The government will also never call to threaten
deportation, loss of license or arrest. And the IRS does not initiate contact with you via email.
When you get a call from a supposed government agency, and they say any of these things, remember
they are scammers, don't pay them and never give any part of your Social Security number, bank
account number or credit card number. If you get one of these calls, hang up, even if your caller
ID reflects the agency's real telephone number or the name. If you think the call may be real,
hang up and call the agency at a telephone number that you know to be correct. That means go to
the official .gov website to locate the telephone number. Do not call the number that they leave
on your voicemail. If you get one of these calls whether you paid money or not, be sure to report
them to us at reportfraud.ftc.gov. And government impersonators have been around for a while and
as more people get to know their tricks, they're switching it up. So instead of contacting you
about a tax debt and making threats to you to pay up, in the latest trends, scammers may send
you a text about a tax rebate, or some other tax refund or benefit. The text messages may look
legit like this one, and mention tax rebate or refund payments. No matter what the text says it
is a scammer, phishing for your information. And if you click on that link to claim your refund,
you're exposing yourself to identity theft or malware that a scammer could install on your
phone. So, what if someone contacts you about a tax rebate or refund via text? Well, never click
on the links in an unexpected text, and that's really a good rule of thumb for all unexpected
texts. Again, don't share any part of your personal information with anyone who contacts you out
of the blue and always use a website or telephone number that you know is real. Remember, the IRS
won't call you, email or text you for the first time. They'll always start by sending you a
letter in the mail. If you want to confirm, call the IRS directly at 800-829-1040. You may find
out the status of any of your pending refund on the IRS official website. Just visit, Where's My
Refund. And then please report unsolicited texts or emails claiming to be the IRS you can
forward a screenshot of or the email as an attachment to phishing@irs.gov. If you clicked a link
in one of these texts or emails and you shared your personal information, file a report at
identitytheft.gov to get a customized recovery plan based on what information you shared. The
scammers not only pretend to be the government, they often pretend to be companies that offer
employment. So be aware that while you're looking for a job, scammers are looking for you.
Scammers may go to great lengths to get what they want. They advertise jobs and business
opportunities online and ads, on job sites and on social media. They make their jobs look
attractive by promising high earnings with little work or they tell you, you can start your own
business easily and make money right away. Scammers even sometimes set up fake websites to try to
steal your personal information, your money or both. They may conduct fake online job interviews
and set up phony onboarding portals, where they ask you for your Social Security numbers and bank
account number information so that they could supposedly deposit your paychecks. Other scammers
may ask you to send money for supposed equipment that you need for remote work, and then they
promise to reimburse you with your first paycheck. These are scams. There are several alerts to
takeaway here. One, if a company asks you for sensitive information like your Social Security number, before they hire you, or they say that they need you to make an upfront payment. It may
be a scam. Two, if you feel pressured to share your personal sensitive information before being
hired. That's a red flag. And three, often scammers will send a check for you to buy supplies or
other equipment for more than the amount that you actually need, and they tell you to send the
leftover money back to the company in the form of a gift card or wire transfer, or they may ask
you to send it to someone such as a vendor for supply. Don't do it. It may be a scam. The check
will bounce. So, the money that you send is actually your own and it's gone. If you send money to
a scammer posing as an employer, contact the financial institution you used to send the money and
tell them that it was a fraudulent transaction. Ask to have the transaction reversed, if
possible. Whether you lost money or not, be sure to report the scam to FTC at
reportfraud.ftc.gov. We want to hear about it and we share those reports with other law
enforcement agencies investigating these types of matters. If you believe that you shared your
personal sensitive information with the scammer, be sure to go to identitytheft.gov for your
personalized identity theft recovery plan, which you will learn about in just a few minutes.
Fortunately, there are many ways to protect yourself against many of the methods that scammers
and identity thieves use in order to get your information. I know you're probably doing a lot of
these already. But if you're not, they're easy changes that you can make to protect yourselves.
Don't carry your Social Security card in your wallet. Keep it somewhere very safe at home. Shred
anything that has your account numbers on it or your Social Security number on it before you
throw it away. And remember, we just talked about this when we were talking about government
imposters. It applies really to anyone who contacts you out of the blue. Just don't share your
account numbers or your Social Security numbers with anyone who contacts you. Keep your personal
information in a secure place at home, especially if you have roommates, overnight guests,
outside help, are you having work done at the house, you might even consider having a lockbox.
Get your mail as soon as you can. You're going to watch out for any unexpected bills or bills
that might be missing. Keep a very close eye on your accounts and your financial statements.
That's one of the best ways to discover credit card fraud, spotting those charges for things you
didn't buy. And then it's a great idea to watch your credit reports in all three national credit
bureaus, Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion. You can get your credit report every year by law for
free from AnnualCreditReport.com. But, right now through December 2023, you can get it for free
every week, review each one of them, because they may contain different information, and then dispute the errors on your credit report. Any of those errors could simply be a mistake, but
they also could be a warning sign of identity theft. And as we'll talk about in just a moment,
you might want to consider a credit freeze, which may help stop identity thieves cold. While
online, there are some other easy steps that you can take in order to protect your information.
For starters, you want to use strong passwords, a combination of numbers, letters, upper and
lowercase and symbols. Your mom's maiden name, your kid's date of birth, or the last four digits
of your Social Security number are not strong passwords. And don't use the same password for
different accounts. Use multifactor authentication when it's an option, particularly for your
financial accounts, email and social media accounts. When you sign up for multifactor
authentication that means companies will require something in addition to a password in order to
login to your account, maybe a passcode that is sent through an app, a scan of your face or
something else. But this way, if a hacker gets your password somehow, they can't get into your
account with the password alone. Keep antivirus software up-to-date. In fact, if you can set it
to update automatically, that's a great rule of thumb, you want it to update as soon as a newer
version comes out. So, you will have critical patches and protections against security threats.
The same goes for your operating system, be sure that you have the latest version. And then we
talked about this before, but again never click on links, emails or texts or social media
messages. If you wonder about it, type in the website you know in order to navigate to the
information that you're looking for. Don't click on the link in the message. And if you're
shopping, paying for something or sharing sensitive information online looks at the lock in the
URL bar, as well as a URL that starts with HTTPS. That means your transaction is encrypted.
Remember though, that if a site is encrypted, that doesn't mean necessarily mean it's on the up
and up, sketchy sites can use encryption too. All right, I mentioned the credit freeze earlier.
Fraud alerts and credit freezes can be used to help you avoid and to recover from identity
theft. They sound alike, but they work a little different. A fraud alert tells businesses to check with you before opening a new account in your name. Usually that means calling you first
to make sure you're the person trying to open a new account. Unlike a credit freeze, a fraud
alert does not limit access to your credit report. You place a fraud alert by contacting one of
the three national credit bureaus; that one credit bureau must notify the other two. A fraud
alert is free and lasts one year, and then you can renew it. If you've experienced identity
theft, you can get an extended fraud alert that lasts for seven years. A credit freeze on the
other hand is the best way to protect against an identity thief opening new accounts in your
name. A credit freeze means potential creditors cannot access your credit report. And because
creditors usually won't give you credit if they can't check your credit report that means the
freeze blocks identity thieves who might be trying to open accounts in your name. It's free to
place with each of the three credit bureaus, it's free to remove it and it doesn't expire. You
can place a credit freeze even if you have not experienced identity theft. You can even do this
for your children and incapacitated adults. Don't let the freeze part worry you. A credit freeze
will not affect your credit score or your ability to use your existing credit cards, apply for
job, rent an apartment or buy insurance. If you need to apply for new credit, you can lift the
freeze temporarily to let the credit check go through. That's free. But you'll just have to
contact whichever credit bureau needs to lift it and then put it back in place once you've done
applying for credit. You can find contact information for the credit bureaus at
IdentityTheft.gov/CreditBureauContacts. Your personal situation will determine which of these is
right for you. But you may want to think about a credit freeze if your Social Security number or
other information has been exposed in a data breach or misused by identity thieves. And for
everyone else, a fraud alert might just give you extra peace of mind. All right, sometimes even
when we take all of these steps to reduce the risk of identity theft, it can still happen. The
FTC's website IdentityTheft.gov is here to help you report and recover. IdentityTheft.gov is the
government's one-stop shop and offers recovery plans for more than 30 types of identity theft.
IdentityTheft.gov is an interactive website available in both English and Spanish. That gives you
a plan for resolving your identity theft issues along with step-by-step guidance for carrying
out that plan. It's very easy to report. You simply follow the prompts. You will put in details
of how your identity was stolen or misused and the site then uses that information to create the
customized tools you'll need to recover. IdentityTheft.gov streamlines the reporting process if
you experience tax identity theft, which occurs when an identity thieve uses your social
security number to get a tax refund or job. As you see here by the end of six quick steps, you
will have created your identity theft report, your IRS Form 14039 and you'll get a recovery
plan. Here's an example of an FTC identity theft report, a very important piece of your recovery
is a sworn statement that you can use in place of a police report in most cases to clear your
credit records of transactions that resulted from the identity theft. FTC makes these identity
theft reports available to law enforcement agencies investigating identity theft crimes. Here's
an example of the IRS identity theft affidavit Form 14039 another important piece of your
recovery. Thanks to a joint initiative between the FTC and the IRS, you can use IdentityTheft.gov
to report tax identity theft directly to the IRS. In fact, it is the only way to file an IRS
identity theft affidavit online. And more importantly, submitting that affidavit to the IRS
electronically ensures that it gets to the IRS quickly and securely. Therefore, it speeds the process up for IRS to get started resolving your tax identity theft case. And after you have
your identity theft report and submit your IRS identity theft affidavit electronically, you also
get that recovery plan with step-by-step instructions for carrying out the plan. Each of the
lines here accordions out to offer detailed advice about how to carry out the steps, including
links to credit reporting agencies, and others that you may need to contact. Your personalized
recovery plan comes with a checklist and follow-up reminders, as well as prefilled letters and
forms you'll need to file or send to credit businesses, debt collectors and other businesses to
help to resolve identity theft. As you can see on the right hand side of the screen, the system
reminds you that you submitted your IRS identity theft affidavit, and it gives you the date that
it was submitted. You can create a secure personal account so that you can return to the website
at any time to update your plan, track your recovery progress, and get customized letters that
you can send to credit agencies, those debt collectors and other businesses to help resolve the
identity theft. Of course, you can get a recovery plan without an account, but you can get the
full benefit of the website when you do create an account. I've talked a lot about a couple of
these websites already. But they're still important, I will mention them again. For help with
recovery or questions about identity theft, go to IdentityTheft.gov. You want to go to
ReportFraud.FTC.gov to report scams and deceptive business practices you encounter in the
marketplace. To learn more about how to avoid identity theft, and all about the other scams you
might run across visit Consumer.FTC.gov, and please share this website with others. You'll find
everything from romance scams and business opportunity fraud to getting your free credit report
and how to block unwanted calls. You can keep up-to-date with the latest scams and what the FTC
is doing electronically by signing up for our consumer alerts at that website. You'll get a
couple of blog posts per week sent directly to your inbox so you can stay in the know, and again,
share what you've learned and what you've learned here today. Before I turn it over to Michael, I
want to mention that we have had a week of events packed with great information for Identity
Theft Awareness Week. Many of them have been recorded and posted on various platforms. Take a
look at the lineup of events at FTC.gov/IDTheftWeek, there is something for people of all ages,
including information for individuals and businesses. Listen for yourself and please share the
links with others. Thank you. Back to you, Michael. Michael Smith: All right. Thank you so much,
Kelle. Excellent information, very helpful. So, thanks for going through all of that with us.
All right, audience let me introduce our speaker for the second half of our presentation. We are
joined by Evette Davis, a Senior Stakeholder Liaison in our Communications and Liaison Division
of the IRS. So please join me and welcoming, Evette. And Evette, if you're all set, it is all
yours. Evette Davis: Wonderful, Michael, thank you so much. And also, thanks to Kelle, I mean
that was a lot of great information, excellent information on identity theft from the Federal
Trade Commission. Thank you all so much for joining us today. I'd like to go ahead and pick up
on Kelle's remarks and speak for a few minutes on scams and fraud, specifically related to tax
administration. So, fighting fraud is a continuous activity for the IRS, primarily because
scammers evolve as technology evolves, right? We focus on prevention, and we're constantly
working with our partners to provide information that hopefully will help you as taxpayers
recognize and avoid those scams. So, let's go ahead and get started and dive in on what's listed
on the screen. So, tax-related identity theft started out as a petty crime, right? It was
perpetrated by unorganized criminals and dishonest return prepares. But it's evolved into a major
enterprise, mainly funded by highly technical national and international crime syndicates. The
IRS sees 1,000s of these fraudulent tax scams each year. And the scams tend to rise during tax
season and times of crisis like we just experienced COVID-19 the pandemic. So, one thing the IRS
does to alert taxpayers is publish an annual list called the Dirty Dozen. Hopefully, you've
already heard about these and you've seen these over the years. Everyone can actually view this
list on IRS.gov, simply by searching Dirty Dozen. On this slide, you can see just a few of these
scams that we have listed as a part of the Dirty Dozen. First up our Email, Phishing and Malware
Schemes, folks, watch out for fake emails that look official, and may look like official
communication even from the IRS and as well as other tax agencies like the Social Security
Administration. These emails are often phishing schemes, specifically designed to trick you, the
reader into providing your login credentials, or even bank account numbers and password. Folks
don't click on these links in these emails, you're going to be taken to sites designed to imitate
official looking websites. And this is all with the goal of obtaining your personal information
like Social Security number, date of birth, and things of that nature, which can be used to file
false tax returns or even access your financial accounts. Then we also see Fake Charities, right?
Criminals frequently exploit natural disasters and other situations like this current pandemic.
They set up fake charities to try to trick people into making donations or even provide their
personal financial information. Another thing you should look out for are these threatening
phone calls, I know, we've all been there, right? Please look out for these threatening phone
calls, because these scammers are regularly calling taxpayers and they imitate or impersonate
the IRS, especially right about this time, right, tax season. They claim to be IRS employees, and
they use aggressive tactics and threats to trick people into paying fake IRS debt. The callers
use fake IRS names, they use bogus IRS badge numbers, and they may already know some of the
details about you as a target, so they seem so legitimate. And also, they can alter the caller
ID. And this is to make it look like it's really the IRS calling, but it's not. So please don't
fall for it. A couple of examples that kind of come to mind and one is about a victim, who was
told they owe money to the IRS, right, and it must be paid immediately. But it can only be paid
through a pre-loaded debit card or some type of a wire transfer. Folks, the IRS does not accept
payments on preloaded cards or wire transfers. Kelle went over this a little bit earlier, so
please remember that. Alternatively, victims may be told they have a refund due. This caller will
try to trick you into sharing your bank account number so the refund can be sent to them. The
call is fake, and the refund is fake, don't get tricked into giving them your personal bank
account information. Remember, scammers try to change tactics. Criminals impersonating IRS agents
remain a major threat to taxpayers. So, we should all be alert. There's also a number of scams
centered around refund theft. Most refund fraud stems from identity theft. And we'll talk more
about that as well. So once data thieves obtain a taxpayer's data, they take it and they use it
to file false tax returns and claim false fraudulent refunds. Additionally, on this slide, you're
going to see information about non-English speakers. They are now often a target. So, with these
IRS impersonators and other scammers, they target groups with limited English proficiency and
they base it on their foreign sounding last name. They threatened to bring in the police,
immigration officers or other law enforcement just to make them nervous enough to share that
information. And they're going to threaten to have them arrested for not paying it. Finally,
folks, we have the bad return preparers. These are dishonest preparers will pop-up every filing
season. They promise inflated refunds by claiming fake tax credits like education credits or the
earned income tax credit. Folks, go to IRS.gov and search for return preparer directory. This is
going to give you some tips on choosing a qualified tax return preparer. Now, more than 90% of
all data thefts begin with an email phishing scam. Since phishing emails are one of the most
common online threats, it's really important to be aware of the signs and know what to do when
you receive them. And here are some of the ways you can spot phishing attacks. First, emails may
arrive in your inbox that look authentic, right? It might match the style used by your company,
or even an external business like a bank that you bank with. But keep an eye out for emails
requesting personal information like your banking details or your login credentials. If you think
the email isn't genuine, stop. Don't click any links, don't provide any information, just don't
respond to it. Search online for the organization's information and contact them directly. Two,
phishing emails often come from fake addresses that appear to be genuine. And this is tricky.
Scammers can mask email addresses or simply change one or two characters of a known company. And
if you only glanced at the sender's email address, it may look real. So, folks take a moment and
hover over the address to examine it. That may tell you if it's from a legitimate source or not.
Three, phishing emails are often very poorly written, a lot of mistakes will be found in these
emails. So, if you receive an unexpected email from a company, and it's riddled with mistakes
that's a strong indicator that the email is probably a phishing email. Four, be suspicious,
anytime unexpected email has an attachment. Clicking the attachment could install malicious
software on your personal computer or network. Even if you think the attachment is genuine, it's
always a good practice to scan it first, using some type of antivirus software. And five, the
messages in phishing emails are often designed to make you panic. For example, the email may
claim that your account was compromised, and you need to provide your username and password just
to verify this account, do it right now. Folks, this is a common tactic, and it works, because
you're more likely to respond quickly without even thinking, if the situation seems urgent
enough, right? Again, I'm urging you right now, stop, think twice before responding. If you're
unsure, contact the company directly just to make sure it's legitimate. Now, here's some things
you need to know about the IRS in general. The IRS doesn't initiate contact with taxpayers by
email, text messages, or through social media. We initiate most contacts through regular mail
delivered by the United States Postal Service. However, there are special circumstances in which
the IRS will call or come to a home or business. For example, we have IRS Revenue Officers and
Revenue Agents who make in-person visits at taxpayers' homes or businesses. But, folks, even in
those situations, you as a taxpayer will generally have received several letters or notices from
the IRS in the mail before you're contacted in-person. Also, the IRS won't threaten to bring in
local police. They won't threaten to bring in immigration officers or other law enforcement to
have you arrested for not paying. And please understand this, the IRS can't revoke your driver's
license, they can't revoke your business license or immigration status. The IRS will never ask
you to make a payment using a prepaid debit card, gift card or wire transfer. And, finally, the
service will never call or email you asking for user IDs and passwords. Now, I'd like to discuss
some of the signs of tax-related identity theft. So, I talked about some of the common ways
taxpayer's identity could be compromised. So, what can scammers do with your name, your address
and taxpayer identification number once they get it with respect to the IRS. So, the most common
thing they do is try to electronically file a fraudulent return before you file your own return.
of a tax-related identity theft until they go to electronically file their own return, and it Now, in most cases, the legitimate owner of that Social Security number will be totally unaware
rejects. And this is because the IRS' system already shows a tax return filed for that Social
Security number. If you're unable to file electronically, because someone else has already filed
under your Tax Identification Number, then you're going to need to mail your return to the IRS
and attach a Form 14039. This is an identity theft affidavit. The form is available on IRS.gov.
The IRS will then place your case into the Identity Theft Victim Assistance Program. They're
going to research and resolve your case, verify your identity, then issue any legitimate refund
and place you in the Identity Protection Personal Identification Number Program. We're going to
talk a little bit more about that a little later. Now, the IRS also identifies returns that could
potentially be fraudulent returns. If the IRS believes a return is fraudulent, and you could
potentially be a victim of identity theft. The IRS is going to send the letter advising that we
have a questionable return with your identifying information on it. The letter will ask if the
return is yours. And if it is your return, we'll then ask you to verify your identity by phone,
online or in-person. The degree of risk determines the method we're going to use for you to
verify your identity. Upon verification, we'll release the legitimate tax refund. If you advise
the IRS that the return is not yours, we'll clear out your tax account so that we'll be able to
accept a paper return from you. In this case, there would be no need to file the identity theft
affidavit because we already know you're a victim, right? So, now, let's go ahead and continue on
this slide. You may receive a notice stating that you owe additional tax or collection action
may have been taken for a year that you didn't even file a tax return for. These both are another
sign of identity theft, and you should immediately respond using the contact information on the
notice. Now, there are instances where fraudsters will use your Social Security number with
employers in order to obtain jobs. Or they may apply for and receive taxable benefits like
unemployment compensation from the government. The employer or agency reports that income or
taxable benefits to the IRS. The IRS then compares it to your filed return, and they will send
you a notice for additional taxes due, because the income appears to be unreported. Again, you
should immediately respond using the contact information on the notice. You should also notify
the employer or the agency that issued the information return and explain to them that someone
stole your identity and that you don't work for that employer or you didn't apply for those
benefits. Now, if someone received emails from anyone, including IRS imposters asking for
personal information like Social Security numbers, or bank information, as well as a birth date,
and this is with respect to something like the economic impact payment, those stimulus payments
or any other type of ploy, the message should be forwarded to phishing@irs.gov is on the screen,
P-H-I-S-H-I-N-G@irs.gov. Also, if you're a victim of identity theft, you can use the Federal
Trade Commission's one-stop resource for identity theft reporting and recovery and that can be
found at www.IdentityTheft.gov. If a taxpayer experienced the theft of stimulus payment or the
economic impact payment, or assessment of their tax refund, either by direct debit or due to a
scam like an IRS imposter, who may call you, then they should contact the Treasury Department's
Inspector General Office. Okay, folks, during the Federal Trade Commission portion, they talked
about a lot of information. But did you know that the Federal Trade Commission has an Identity
Theft Awareness Week. In this, we encourage individuals, businesses and tax professionals to
during this week to secure their sensitive financial data. With that in mind, let's talk a little
bit about our Identity Protection PIN or the IP PIN. So, what is an IP PIN? An IP PIN is a
six-digit number that prevents someone else from filing a tax return using your Social Security
number, or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number. Even people like some seniors, who no
longer have a filing requirement can benefit from having an IP PIN, because it can protect your
Social Security number and prevent someone from filing a fraudulent return without your
knowledge. If you have an IP PIN, it must be entered on your tax returns, and it must be entered
correctly. This is whether you file a return electronically or by paper. The system will reject
your return without the correct IP PIN. The good news is with an IP PIN, it will also reject any
fraudulent returns using your Social Security number. That IP PIN is going to prevent fraudulent
returns. So, any paper returns filed without the correct IP PIN will undergo additional scrutiny
and any fraudulent returns will be removed from your account. The IRS will verify that the return
is yours and then continue to process it. So how can taxpayers prevent scammers from filing false
refund returns with stolen information? Well, folks, we've been working on that for a long time.
And for the last 10 years or so the IRS has provided these Identity Protection PINs or the IP
PINs. Effective January 2021, the service started allowing taxpayers, nationwide, to opt-in to
the IP PIN program. And we hope that you will consider doing that as well. The IP PIN is known
only to the taxpayer who can then provide it to their tax preparer and the IRS. This IP PIN
changes every year. So, each January, taxpayers get a new IP PIN valid for that calendar year.
The taxpayer or their trusted tax preparer simply enter that six-digit number, because they're
going to be prompted by that tax preparation software. Or if they're filing by paper, you're
just going to write it on the signature line. Now, I want to share some important reminders and
tips for the IP PIN. If you are a confirmed victim of ID theft, the IRS will mail you a letter
CP01A. And this is a notice with your new IP PIN, and they're going to mail this each year. If a
taxpayer opts into the IP PIN program, and you choose to get an IP PIN, you're not an identity
theft victim, but you choose to opt-in to the program through the online tool, then you're going
to need to return to IRS.gov beginning January of each year to get a new IP PIN so that you can
file your current calendar year tax return. You will need to enter that IP PIN to avoid any type
of processing delays or rejections of your tax returns. Never ever share your IP PIN with anyone
other than your tax return preparer at the time that they are filing your returns. The best way
to enroll into the IP PIN to get the IP PIN is using the online platform. However, we know that
everyone is not tech-savvy, everyone does not have access. So, if you're unable to enroll
online, then there are options. Please consider enrolling by using Form 15227, which is an
application for an IP PIN, you can send that in by mail. Or you can schedule an in-person
meeting at a local taxpayer assistance office. All taxpayers, including dependents should keep
their address up-to-date, because with an IP PIN that last known address is where the IRS is
going to send that new IP PIN each year. You can change or update your mailing address, file the
Form 8822. Go to IRS.gov to secure Publication 5547 and this is all taxpayers are now eligible
for Identity Protection PIN information, that's the publication there, and this is to get
additional details about the IP PIN. Okay, Pub. 5547. Okay, folks, please listen up very
carefully, because this is important. I want to say this once again, I know, Kelle said it, and
I said it earlier as well. No one will call, email or text, certainly not the IRS to request a
taxpayers IP PIN. Thieves try very hard to get taxpayers' IP PIN. So, you as a taxpayer must
keep them secure. That's why it's very important that you not share your IP PIN with anyone, but
your trusted tax return preparer. If a taxpayer forgets or loses their IP PIN, then you can
always use the online tool to recover it. If the IP PIN is obtained by paper application, the
taxpayer will be mailed a new IP PIN around December or so to use in the next calendar year. So,
in this scenario, taxpayers should remember to update their addresses, as I mentioned. Please
keep your addresses updated with the IRS, if you move and you're going to use Form 8822. As I
mentioned earlier, the IRS receives reports of dishonest or questionable return preparers every
year. Sometimes these are simply tax preparers who don't understand taxes, but we also see
preparers who mislead people into taking credits or deductions that they're not entitled to. And
some that commit outright fraud and identity theft. And that's unfortunately why bad return
preparers were on the IRS' Dirty Dozen list in 2022. This particular slide shows some indications
that a tax return preparer may not be honest or legitimate. One thing you should remember is that
all return preparers are legally required to register with the IRS with a Preparer Tax
Identification Number or their PTIN. And they're required to include that PTIN and sign the
returns they prepare as paid preparer. So, when you're choosing a tax preparer, ask if they will
be signing the tax return as the preparer and then ask for proof of their PTIN number, they'll
probably be shocked that you're asking this. If they won't sign the tax return as the pay
preparer or won't provide their PTIN, they may be someone we call a ghost preparer, someone who
is not following the rules. Here's some additional indicators to watch out for. Again, remember
not signing the return is our red flag, so stop. You can actually go to IRS.gov and search How to
Choose a Return Preparer. And this is going to give you tips and tools to help you select a good
return preparer. You can report a questionable preparer to the IRS by using Form 14157 and this
is a tax return preparer complaint. Folks, because this is so important, I just want to go ahead
and reiterate Kelle's tips for preventing online identity theft. First, again, don't respond to
emails that ask for your personal or financial information. Please don't click on any links
within these emails. And next, you should always use a reputable and up-to-date antivirus and
anti-spyware software and use the latest version web browser. Also, folks change your passwords
often and keep them safe. I know we've got a lot of passwords that we have to remember. But just
make sure you change them often and keep them safe. Select tough security questions to verify
your accounts. And be sure to backup critical personal information on external media. Limit the
amount of personal information you make available when using social networks. Nothing is more
enticing to a thief than knowing that you'll be on vacation out of the state with your family
for a few weeks. Stop doing that. Ensure the appropriate privacy settings are there to help
prevent social engineering. Visit OnGuardOnline.gov, IRS.gov/IDTheft, and StaySafeOnline.org.
These are a couple of resources for great information on protecting yourself against identity
theft. Now to conclude, I'd like everyone to know that we here at the IRS take this issue of
identity theft very seriously. Not only to protect the revenue, but to protect the taxpaying
public as well. At the outset, I mentioned that the IRS works with various partners to develop
identity protection strategies and technologies all to prevent fraud, specifically refund fraud.
This partnership called the Security Summit consists of the IRS and more than 60 state tax
agencies and the community. And this community includes tax preparation firms, software
developers, payroll and tax financial product processors, as well as tax professional
organizations and financial institutions. The efforts of the security summit resulted in an 80%
drop in reported cases of tax-related identity theft over the last four years, as well as over
$28 billion in fraudulent refunds that were stopped or recovered by partners. And for more
resources and guidance and information, please go to Identity Theft Central at
www.IRS.gov/IdentityTheft. So, for everyone attending today, I really hope this information was
helpful, and that you'll have a better idea of the schemes and scams used by criminals to engage
in tax-related fraud, and that you have an idea of what to do if it happens to you. Okay,
Michael, that concludes our presentation. I'll turn it back over to you. Michael Smith: Thank you
so much, Evette. Hello, everyone. Again, it's me, Michael Smith, and I will now be moderating our
question-and-answer session. Now, before we begin the Q&;A session, I do want to thank everyone
for attending today's presentation on Scams, Tax Related Identity Theft, and Identity Protection
PIN. Now, earlier, I had mentioned we want to know what questions you have for our presenters, so
here is your opportunity. If you haven't input your questions, there is still time, go ahead and
click on the dropdown arrow next to the Ask Question field. And simply type in your questions
there and make sure to click Send, because we have both Kelle and Evette staying on with us to
answer your questions. One thing before we start, we may not have time to answer all the
questions, but we will answer as many as we get to in the time allowed; and just a personal note, all of these questions are extremely important and helpful to us, because they help us build and
improve these webinars in the future. We want to know what you are asking about. So even if we
don't get to your question, please type it in there. All right, let's get started. So, we can
get to as many questions as possible. Okay, a number of the questions kind of focus on one topic.
So, both Kelle and Evette, let me pose this question to both of you. I hope that that works out
for us. So, Kelle - well, let me read this question, and then Kelle, I'll ask you for the first
response. So, the question reads, what can I do to protect my child's identity? And what should I
do if my child's identity has been used on a fraudulent tax return? So, Kelle, can you address
the first part of that question? What can I do to protect child's identity? Kelle Slaughter:
Absolutely. Thank you so much for that question, Michael. It's a very important one. Fortunately,
parents and guardians have a few things that they can do to reduce the chances of their child's
identity being compromised. One, you want to limit the exposure or the use of your child's
Social Security number. I mean, parents, you don't have to share with everybody who asked for it,
don't share with those that don't necessarily need it. If a person asks you to provide it, check
to see if there is an alternative option for verification like their report card. Two, we've
discussed this earlier, consider a credit freeze. A credit freeze is available to anyone,
including children and incapacitated adults. It's the best way to protect against an identity
thief opening new accounts in your child's name. And three, a sign of a possible child identity
theft is the influx of credit card offers in your mailbox. So, because they will start to
generate it if a thief tries to attempt to open an account in your child's name. So, we encourage
you to keep an eye on your mailbox. If you start to see those credit card offers come-in in your
child's name, be concerned and go ahead and take the appropriate actions. And then lastly, get
involved - and I don't want to say, lastly, I'm going to say get involved in your child's online
activity. Talk to your children about boundaries, when they meet people online, no matter how
old the person is. Let them know never to share identifying information like your home address
and Social Security numbers, or even answers to some of your security questions. And then, for
the second part of this question, I'm going to let IRS give you more details. But certainly, if
you experienced identity theft, go to IdentityTheft.gov for your personalized recovery plan and
to report. Michael. Michael Smith: Okay. Thanks, Kelle. Yeah, good tips. And okay, Evette, yeah,
I can direct the second part of that question to you. So let me just read that again. What should
I do if my child's identity has been used on a fraudulent tax return? Evette Davis: Yeah. Thanks,
Michael. And Kelle, I'm just going to say this right now. I sure wish I had known all of these
tips and things to look out for when my kids were younger. I would have paid a little closer
attention to those credit card offers coming in the mail. Because we - I do remember getting a
lot of those, right? So, what should I do if my child's identity has been used on a fraudulent
tax return? The short answer is you need to be contacting the IRS. And there is a specific number
that you can actually call, I'm going to share some more information in a little bit, but
1-800-908-4490, by calling that number, they can take steps to immediately secure your child tax
account and social security number. There are also additional options that you can take online.
I've wanted to just say a little bit more about this. I'm not sure how you knew or realize there
was a problem. But if you, for example, you filed your tax return and got a message saying that
you're dependent on your return had already used their Social Security numbers; already been
claimed or filed on another return or on their return, you need to contact the IRS immediately.
Another way you may know something is up, if the IRS sends you a notice. And sometimes the IRS
will send out notices CP87A. And when you get that, please respond immediately to the IRS, you're
going to need to verify information on that form to make sure that what you entered is correct
for your dependent that you claim on your tax return. Equally important, I want to tell you that
if you don't know if anyone who would have claimed that dependent like an ex-spouse, for example,
then your dependent may be the victim of identity theft. Okay. What we've been talking about, at
the IRS have a guide to identity theft on IRS.gov. And there's some steps there that you can use
to help you hopefully, take a little bit more control. Especially there are steps that you need
to know about if you feel your child's identity has been stolen, and I'll briefly go through
these steps. All right. There are three primary steps to claim your dependent or to check things
to make sure your dependent is safe. If your child has been the victim of identity theft, the
Social Security number has been used then you're going to have to likely file a paper return.
Okay. You're going to file a paper return to claim that dependent and mail it into the IRS. Now
your refund will be delayed. But this is only because the IRS is going to be investigating your
case. All right, paper returns can take up to, from six to eight weeks for IRS to process. The
other thing is you're going to need to prove that you're entitled to claim that dependent, right?
There's a Form 886-H-DEP. And this is going to provide a comprehensive list of supporting
documentation that's going to assist the IRS in resolving your case, we get this question all the
time, what do we need? How can I prove that I'm entitled to my dependents, you may be - you may
have to secure copies of birth certificates, some type of proof of identity or documentation to
show that your dependent live with you at the same address more than half the calendar year,
school records, medical records, daycare records, maybe even social service records, medical
information things of that nature, that can show proof that the dependent that you're entitled
to that dependent. Okay. The third thing I want to add to this is, when you get a letter from the
IRS, please respond immediately. Because if this is the case, then you and your child has been a
victim of identity theft, and they're trying to process the paper return and get things sorted
out a couple of months after you file that paper return, the IRS is going to begin to determine
who's entitled to claim that dependent, right? The other person who claimed the dependents will
get a letter from the IRS, the same letter you received. And if one of you do not file an
amended return or file a return that removes the child-related benefits or the child as a
dependent, then they're going to make the determination as to who is entitled to get that child.
All right. In that case, you're going to go through something, it's going to seem like an audit
of source. And it's basically what it is. And again, in that audit, they're going to require you
to provide proof that you're entitled to claim that dependent. All right. So please make sure if
you get something from the IRS, trying to prove that your child, you're entitled to claim your
child, please respond immediately. Okay. There are a lot of resources that we have on our
webpage, there is specifically something that says Identity Theft for Dependents that will be a
great, great resource for you, as well as Publication 501. That speaks to dependents, filing
information, things of that nature that talk about your rights relative to your dependent. Long
response, but great question. That's all, Michael. Michael Smith: Thanks so much, Evette. No,
that's what you covered everything, we could have wanted to know on that question. That was
great. Thanks for being so thorough. No, it really does help. Okay, next question. Kelle, this
one, I think is a great question and probably affects a lot of people. Let me read this out for
you. So, there is lots of help available online for identity theft. But what about our senior
citizens that may not have access to the internet, or they're just not computer literate? If
they find that their identity has been stolen? Do you have any advice for those senior citizens
or just others without computer internet access? Kelle Slaughter: Yes, we do. Thank you, Michael.
Each week, the FTC assists thousands of individuals reporting identity theft through our toll
free hotline as well as a dedicated website I've been talking about at IdentityTheft.gov. And the
caller receives one-on-one guidance from our trained personnel on steps that they can take in
order to prevent or to recover from identity theft. That toll free number to reach us directly is
1-877-438-4338, again, 1-877-438-4338. We are happy to assist them directly if they're with
their concerns regarding identity theft. Additionally, we distribute a wide variety of consumer
educational materials to help them to spot, avoid and to recover from identity theft. We
partnered with AARP as well as the identity theft resource center to distribute some of these in
doing presentations across the country. So, if it's a situation, where the individual is maybe
sight impaired, then you would want to go ahead and default to that phone number. As well as
we've been talking about Identity Theft Awareness Week, we have a podcast that we partnered with
the Maryland Library for the Blind in order to be able to talk to people who are sight impaired
in order to be able to go ahead and give them the resources that they need. But we have several
ways that we reach out to older adults, we're always happy to do so and we have many, many other resources. Go ahead and sign up for the alerts as being the parent or child of an older adult,
download that consumer alert and get those alerts which we'll be able to tell you exactly where
we're holding things for older adults, and they'll be able to get the information that they
need. Thanks, Michael. Michael Smith: All right. Great. Thanks, Kelle. Okay, let me go back to,
Evette, with an IRS-related question. So, Evette, this question reads has the ability to opt-out
of the IP PIN program for future years been added yet? Let me know if you can get that. Evette
Davis: No, Michael. Yeah, the opt-out option that's the question we've been getting. And we've
got it ever since the IRS started issuing IP PINs. And as of today, unfortunately, the answer is
still no. There are no options to opt out of the IP PIN today, and we are not sure I don't have a
crystal ball with me, Michael. So, I don't know what the future holds, but as of right now,
unfortunately, no. Once you opt-in to get the IP PIN, you are going to be required to use that IP
PIN every single year and to request it, if you opted in voluntarily, or it will be mailed to
you by the IRS that will be generated automatically towards the end of December, beginning of
January. If you are a victim of tax-related identity theft, your IP PIN will be sent to you. So,
no option to opt-out, Michael. Nope. Sorry. Michael Smith: Okay. Well, thanks for clarifying at
least that gives us a good answer. All right, Kelle, looks like we are getting a little short on
time. Let me get one more question from you. And so, this one is more of an opinion question, but
it's pretty simple. Is credit monitoring worth the money? Kelle Slaughter: Oh, wow. That is a
great question actually. There are some great credit monitoring services out there, and that
will alert you to changes involving your credit report. However, when shopping, keep in mind that
credit monitoring is a reactive resource. Today, we've talked about two options that are
available to you for free, that are proactive approaches to protecting your credit. As I
described, the fraud alert to you before an account is opened in your name by requiring the
business to verify that it's you opening the account first. A credit freeze on the other hand
stops access to your credit report. So, no new accounts can be opened using your personal
information without you lifting the freeze. Again, both of these options are free to you and
they're proactive. Which of these free options is best depends on your personal situation, as
well as any use of a credit monitoring service. Thanks, Michael, for that question. Michael
Smith: All right. No, thank you, Kelle. All right, Kelle, you bet. Thank you both, again, we're
going to wrap up the Q&;A. Audience, it's all the time we have for questions. Before we close the
final session here, Kelle, do you have any key points that you want the attendees to remember
from today's webinar? Kelle Slaughter: Yes, thanks, Michael. Please, you all remember to be aware
when someone calls you out of the blue attempts to get you excited or get you scared, or they
asked you immediately to make payments by wire transfer, prepaid gift cards or cryptocurrency.
These are all red flags used often in a variety of scams not just employment or tax
identification and tax scams. If you recognize any of these red flags, you can be able to avoid
older methods that scammers use and some of the new stuff. You want to verify who is contacting
you by going online to research before you act, and speaking of being online, be sure to use
strong passwords and multifactor authentication, when it's available to you. Do consider a credit
freeze for you, your children and incapacitated adults. It's free. And if you should experience
identity theft, we hope you don't, but go to IdentityTheft.gov to report and file your identity
theft concerns and get your personalized recovery plan. Thank you, Michael. Back to you. Michael
Smith: All right. Thanks, Kelle. And Evette, same question for you. Do you have any key points
for our attendees? Evette Davis:Of course, I do, Michael, I just have a few I want to mention.
Okay, so folks, with tax professionals or preparers, they should read the Dirty Dozen lists every
year. It's really quick, easy and simple to - easy way to kind of stay aware of the most common
scams that are out there. So not just tax professionals, but taxpayers in general, you should
know about these things. Folks stay skeptical of any emails, text messages, or social media
messages coming from anyone claiming to be an IRS agent. Now, while IRS agents will communicate
with you over the phone and through email, once they've already contacted you, they will not
initiate contact using any of these methods. Again, folks, if you receive some type of a scam,
email, or you or your client are victims of tax-related identity theft, please report it. You can
do this very easily. At the IRS, we view tax professionals as partners. And we need you to
report these scams when they happen. I also want to encourage everyone to obtain an IP PIN. And
when you get it, do not share it, keep it secure, because it's going to be the best way
individuals can protect their accounts. Just a few more, Michael, I want to share with everyone.
Folks, you need to know the signs of a dishonest return preparer. They're not a lot, but they
are out there. Also make sure that your return preparer signs your return and provides a Preparer
Tax Identification Number, you can visit IRS.gov/SecuritySummit to learn more about the
awareness campaigns. You can also find news events and announcements there. And lastly, the IRS
has a ton of publications available to help you stay safe when filing your tax return. The
publications listed on the screen are also available on IRS.gov in PDF format. All right,
Michael, that's all I have. Back over to you. Michael Smith: Okay. Thank you, Evette and Kelle,
again. All right, audience we are planning additional webinars throughout the year. To register
for all upcoming webinars please visit www.irs.gov. Use that keyword search, Webinars, and select
Webinars for Tax Practitioners, or Webinars for Small Businesses. We do invite you to visit our
IRS Video Portal at www.irsvideos.gov. There you can view archived versions of all of these
webinars. Today's webinar had a number of specific phone numbers, specific websites, don't feel
like you have to remember all of those, you can view this webinar, it will be recorded.
Continuing education credits or certificates of completion are not offered, if you view any
archived version of any of our webinars on that IRS Video Portal. Again, a big thank you to our
FTC partner, Kelle Slaughter and to Evette Davis for a great webinar today and for sharing your
expertise. And thanks again to you, the audience for attending today's webinar, Internal Revenue
Service and Federal Trade Commission presents: Scams, Tax Related Identity Theft and Identity
Protection PIN. We would appreciate it if you'd take a few minutes to complete a short survey
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