Tax season is upon us! If you need some assurance of this, find an old friend of yours who’s grown up to be an accountant. If you’re lucky enough to get them to “leave their burrow” for a few minutes, they’ll almost assuredly run back inside and predict six more weeks of winter.
That being said, it’s time for some friendly reminders. Please don’t take these personally, as some of this might sound obvious and almost patronizing, but I’d rather you remember them when a scammer calls you at 5:45AM to wake you from a deep sleep, so I’ll try to make them as memorable as possible.
- THE IRS WILL NEVER CALL YOU FOR OFFICIAL BUSINESS! No ifs, ands, or buts.
- No government official will ever call you to ask your social security number, or any other sensitive personal information.
- Never ever send your social security number via email. No exceptions.
- Don’t ever respond to a text asking for sensitive personal info (if you’re expecting to be asked for it, for example, for a credit check or an insurance quote, speak with the individual on the phone and verify their identity as thoroughly as possible).
- Hang up on or ignore calls from blocked numbers – if it’s important they can dial *82 and call you back. Some phones now automatically silence unknown callers or label them as “Potential Scam” – this service is worth its weight in gold. If they do leave you a message, you can always look up the number online (or ask someone to help you do so).
Thousands of unsuspecting, well-meaning people get caught by talented hackers and phone scammers each year. My sincere hope is that you can see them coming from a mile away and can do what you need to in order to keep yourself safe.
