It’s National Small Business Week, and the IRS is sharing resources and highlighting key topics each day throughout the week.
One of those topics is scams. Back in March, the annual Dirty Dozen list of common tax scams was announced. These scams and schemes target taxpayers, businesses of all sizes and tax professionals. Let’s look at a couple that could affect businesses and entrepreneurs as well as tax professionals supporting small businesses.
IRS officials say tax pros and businesses can be targets of “new client” or “document request” emails that deliver malicious links or attachments to steal client data or access systems.
The officials say businesses, tax pros, and individuals should always be cautious of any suspicious requests or unusual behavior before sharing any sensitive information or responding to an email.
Warning signs may include unexpected requests for sensitive information, mismatched or unfamiliar sender addresses, urgent payment demands, or links directing users to websites that do not clearly originate from IRS.gov.
Be aware that by gaining access to a hacked email account, scammers can locate a genuine email from a previous victim's email account sent to their tax professional.
Scammers are promoting a broad “self-employment tax credit” which can lead to inaccurate filings.
Many taxpayers don’t qualify for these credits. Taxpayers should rely on trusted sources like Publication 334, Tax Guide for Small Business (For Individuals Who Use Schedule C) and qualified tax professionals, not social media promotions, when determining eligibility for credits.
Businesses can take proactive steps to safeguard their business and employees by using anti-malware/anti-virus software with automatic updates and requiring strong passwords with multi-factor authentication. Only enter personal data on secure websites (https) to prevent unauthorized access. See Publication 5961, Protect your business from tax scams PDF, for more information.
Protect the Employer Identification Number. Keep it secure and up to date. Use Form 8822-B, Change of Address or Responsible Party — Business, to make any necessary EIN updates promptly, ensuring its integrity and minimizing the risk of identity theft or fraudulent activity.
Report suspected tax fraud, scams, identity theft, or other tax-related wrongdoing at IRS.gov/submitatip.
Explain data losses related to W-2 scams by emailing dataloss@irs.gov and providing contact information. In the subject line, type “W2 Data Loss” so that the email makes it to the right people. Don’t attach any employee personally identifiable information.
Contact the Federation of Tax Administrators to receive information on how to report victim information to states using the State Data Breach Contacts
More information
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