IRS Offers Advice on How You Can Avoid Being Scammed This Holiday Season

Vance Cariaga
·2 min read
domoyega / Getty Images/iStockphoto
domoyega / Getty Images/iStockphoto

Those elves at the North Pole aren’t the only ones busy this time of year. Scammers are, too, because there’s no better time to commit fraud than when a lot of people are spending a lot of money on a lot of things in a lot of different places.

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To help prevent identify theft, tax scams and other types of fraud that increase over the holidays, the IRS, state tax agencies and tax professionals are partnering together under the banner of the “Security Summit.” The summit kicked things off on Monday with National Tax Security Awareness Week, an annual event to spread the word about scams and how to avoid them.

“We urge people to be extra careful with their personal and financial information during this period while shopping online or getting suspicious emails or text,” IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig said in a press release. “Taking a few simple steps can keep people from becoming victims of identity theft and protect their sensitive personal information needed for tax returns and refunds.”

Here are some steps the IRS recommends to protect your information and avoid scams this holiday season:

  • Use security software for computers, tablets and mobile phones, and make sure it’s updated.

  • Check that your anti-virus software can stop malware, and also check that there’s a firewall to prevent intrusions.

  • To prevent phishing scams such as fraudulent emails, calls and texts, don’t open links or attachments on suspicious emails. Common fraud scams this year might be related to COVID-19, federal stimulus payments and tax law changes.

  • Use strong and unique passwords for all online accounts.

  • When possible, use multi-factor authentication to prevent thieves from easily hacking accounts, especially for social media accounts.

  • For online shopping, only use sites where the web address begins with “https” (the “s” is for secure communications over the computer network). You should also look for the “padlock” icon in the browser window.

  • Don’t shop or make financial transactions on unsecured wi-fi in public places such as malls and restaurants.

  • Double-check that your home wi-fi is secured with a password. Unsecured wi-fi is often used as an access point for identity thieves.

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A special emphasis will be placed on social media and tax scams for all ages. The IRS notes you do not need to file a tax return to be targeted.

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