![]() ![]() Scammers, however, often request payments to other entities, and in some cases, they request gift cards, wire transfers, or other unusual types of payments. If you owe back taxes to your state, you make your payment to the state revenue agency. If you owe money to the IRS, you make the payment to the Department of the Treasury. Some scammers may even threaten jail or prison time - the IRS doesn’t make these threats in letters. They want you to feel scared so that you call the number on the notice and make a payment. When scammers send out these types of letters, they don’t want you to do research. Building urgency and scaring victims helps their scams be more successful. Scammers, in contrast, almost always demand immediate payment. The only exceptions are if the IRS is seizing your tax refund, the collection of the tax is in jeopardy, or in certain cases with unpaid payroll taxes. For instance, if the IRS is going to seize your assets or garnish your wages, it must notify you at least 30 days before doing so. However, the IRS always gives you at least a 30-day notice before taking collection actions against you. For example, the CP14 notice is sometimes called a demand for payment letter. In fact, some real IRS letters are called “Demand for Payment” notices. Threatening demand for immediate payment. In particular, they may include the following phrases: distraint warrant, notice of warranted lien, and seizure and forfeiture may be imminent due to nonpayment. This can be a hard issue for non-tax professionals to spot, but scam letters often use different language than real IRS letters. You also have to take into account all of the other elements on this list. However, just because the letter has perfect grammar doesn’t mean that it’s real. This is a big red flag because the IRS always uses proper grammar and correct spelling. If you see grammatical errors or if the wording just doesn’t feel right, you may have received a scam letter. Misspellings, grammatical errors, or odd syntax.Ī lot of IRS scam letters are written by scammers who speak English as a second language. Scammers typically aren’t going to direct you to the IRS’s website. For example, if you receive IRS Notice CP75, it will probably say “ ” somewhere in the header. ![]() Most new IRS letters also contain a link to the IRS webpage explaining the notice. The right side of most real IRS letters shows the name of the notice (typically this is two letters followed by a number), the notice date, and your truncated taxpayer ID number (Social Security Number, EIN, or individual taxpayer identification number). The IRS always prints its logo on the top left side of its letters. Missing the IRS logo or the correct taxpayer information. If you owe money to the IRS or a state tax agency, you need to be extra cautious about the risk of scam letters. Both scam artists and tax debt resolution companies look at public records of tax liens, and they often send letters to people who owe tax debts. ![]() That said, owing a tax debt doesn’t mean that your letter is real. Instead, it will just alert you about the balance owed and outline your payment options. However, even if you owe a debt that you aren’t aware of, the IRS’s first letter won’t threaten collection actions. Most scam letters threaten aggressive collection tactics to scare the victim into sending money to the scam artist. If you don’t have a tax debt, the letter is definitely a scam. You don’t think you owe any money to the IRS. When trying to decide if a notice or letter is from the IRS, keep an eye out for the following issues. There are a lot of red flags that can help you determine if you’re dealing with a fake IRS letter. Signs That You Have Received a Fake IRS Letter So, you have plenty of time to figure out if the letter is real or not. Even if the letter is real, the IRS almost always gives taxpayers 30 days to respond. How do you know if the letter you just received is real or fake? Should you panic because the IRS is demanding money? Or should you throw the letter away because it’s a scam?įirst of all, take a deep breath. Fake IRS Letter: What Does a Real IRS Letter Look Like?Įvery year, the IRS sends out millions of letters to taxpayers, but unfortunately, scammers also send out millions of letters every year. ![]()
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