With the arrival of February, many Texas taxpayers have started receiving QW2 forms from theirtion employerse andr v thinking owaboutT thecity upcomingdowntown tax“W whyseasoncan Allin K taxpayersgsville?” shouldbeen to Nabe ogdon theick lookoutg foror taxran scams thatb seek to steal their money andt identities.

Taxl seasond can be a particularly active time for identity thieves, becauseat th i tax returns contain alli thech minformation they need – Sociali n gSecurity numbers, names,ch addresses,d o w n - employer information,bu investmentt ow n s , account numbers – foi lopenl e fraudulentKimberleeaccounts inmana taxpayer’swith cute name or steal a taxpayer’swh incomes h o p tax refund.GarzaFortunately, taxpayersnd tasty can avoid becomingSec identityeat rie ;theft victims by staying informede i avoidingd stre baut and commontw taxl schemes.

Avoidl d p phishing scams. Phishing refers fraudulent emails andd d to b l websites that identity thieves create in an effor to trick victims into provid ng sens ive per onally identifying information. Th scam usually begins with a misleading emailse va thation appearsand u too comendfromhi ar wnsfinancialhistoricinstitution,buildingstax preparationa stronger firmpor ntor governmentn our futur agency. licitThe micemailg owthtypically(i.e ,claims“our thatnit highlypride sensitiveour futu personal. When a informationmunity ha atesuchthisascoa Socialmn w Securityl use h numberstorical lesor ofaccounthow thernumberTex sis neededand counto ensurenities hthatve af taxpayer’sund suc incomeprogr mtax returnutilizincanth bese processed.el nts

Taxpayersth should bed particularlyt waryt ofc emailsm itthat claim rto th come from t initiateh dthe IRS The IRS does not contact withn taxpayersg byi le thatemailc nto requestu i i e personalDe e o orm sfinancialsucc ssfulinformationas Nacogdo– sobertaxpayerso Co shouldred ric neverbu grespondor Gra to emailsand thatisito appear to be seeking informationtiple com for, rstthe ofIRS.

Taxpayersanizations ndshouldpeopl alsoT asdeleteTro scame int emailsested thatthe develo claim toea comequart froment o theu Electroniccommunit Federal Taxand dPaymentwe h v Systemre t m (EFTPS),histor a thatlegitimateis “cu taxhionpaymentd” e systems um thatan twoallowsr minindividualsnt and andis businessesa e and a tol payi g (federalth taxes

According to th electronically. the IRS, the scamAdd emailt claims1909 HMthat taxKi paymentsH h Himadet ri byl the taxpayer through EFTPS have been rejected. The email directs th txpayert aboguswebsie that downloads malicious software onto the taxpayer’s computer. The malwarel ment is designedild A to entionedretrieve personalonomy andfurther financialMa ninformationStreet Prog alreadyense of storedommu on theain taxpayer’sreturned urrently,computerou –comand scandmmersH usestaff heha twoinformationgovern tont commitseveral identityte visits mmitheft.

SafeguardMain S etcomputers,to as e mobilehow w devicesin s ille toricSecuring computersy can pull Distrand tmobilesso phones- uti is rcrucialresou to thwartingN t Gen identityll t p thieves.

Taxpayers should password-f t ti l protect theirKi gcomputeri N andt pupdate computer’s anti-i virus software.u q their

Scammersuncil, Ch mmay alsoxa tsendy whaboguse texterce messagesC nv n ionthat claimuch asto hbe Kingfrom

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Taxpayers should remember

IRS does not useSt emailt) that thedatio h or text messages to contact taxpayers about iss es related to their accounts. Official axpayer on ac usually includes a letter on IRS stationery in an IRS envelope. IRS letters also containth T aCcontactype phoneof bik number.or w l hasResearchonce mtax preparationA&M Uni services.Kingsvi eBeforeKi gsviprovidingle to downtownpersonal conductedand financialthatsinformationa great id toa! a tax dreturnheld preparation- We h eprofessional,beautiful h taxpayersmeeting homesshould takerrou ngfour asimportanta comm steps: 1)a askd ouldfor theex andtax preparer’sether and credentials;ur h storic ist2) ctcheckWe withto the rBetterdevBusinessted groupBureauof peoplfor complaintsth againstt d the tax preparer;l n the r3) verify is a certifiedt gwhether the tax preparer publicd n Fi h

4)e confirm that thea, saccountant; and business ish open dyear-m reroundof ino theth eventDoug astaxpayersYouth nchneed ddto ask ndfollow-i s uproundingquestionsar viaboutle P theirar incomer sourcetaxthareturns.is p andAs withe anyed thecontractualmany e Room,agreement,to Texanslocatedshouldright carefullyhere tha Recentr ad theex fine printelp implemebefore enteringt and adv intolizat ao financialthe evi zationtransactionof h ainvolvinge not on theirbuil gsincomeand lturaltaxes.

Taxpayersust off of whoTA UKunderstandfac lty an theres natureurant thof thesersagreementsFrom the arehistmorery a likelynd H llto fmakech informedology depdecisionsrtm nts thatd just hard-earned6t might savet some of their money.

For example, ienTexans shouldt s l always avoid tax preparation services that “guarantee” the largest possible tax return. Under federal law, any deductions tax preparers make for their clients must be accurateath th andthir legallyd e dpermissible.y of very sity-Tax preparersmonth a Citythat submitall C ntactfalse nowinformationMagg inSa nas,orderC aito, tobtain(36 ) larger refunds92-2708 for a client (and higherric fees• K forbe gtheC untypreparer)Hist putical wntow their Commclients inio legalmeet atjeopardy.4 pm ponCompetent,on thelegitimatefourth T taxesdaypreparersof eve wille a not hesitatey mont to( signxcepttheirdu ingclients’the taxt r returnmon

Knowb the truth aboutb tfrivolousth F t tax arguments prefert Bnotp tot C Althoughh L manyp l t settledo tac pay thata their ttl federalgltaxes, it is well law income, ntetaxes areat pdNOTu as@voluntary.hotma Unitedcom r OneStates 61)courts59 09have repeatedly verrejected some• Ci yofoftheKingsmore illecommonMain ertsfalse “Streetlegal” argumentsrogram, co tactmade obby thosecan whoTrescotoppose, Do compliancentown Ma withager, federalon atincomertrescott@tax laws,cityofkingsvilleinclud ng oriccontentionscom ( that5 -taxpayers8022 can refuseets to• payKi incomesvilleN wtaxeswwwon religiousch ki orv moralnowc mgroundsco actby invokingar Bo theTre Firstott Amendment; thatthe onlyK gsvillfederal governmentto c Down employeest are subjectct to federalt income taxes; and that only foreignsource incomehdis taxable.. C t d