Taxes: Tax Scams

BEWARE!

The IRS DOES NOT initiate contact with taxpayers by email, text messages or social media channels to request personal or financial information. Check the following links if you receive a suspicious request, even one that appears to be from someone you know or at your institution.

At Rice University people in positions with access to confidential W-2 forms have been targeted. The "from" address was forged to show someone's rice.edu email address, but replies to the email went to an external address. March Scarborough, Chief Information Security Officer offered the following tips if anyone is ever asked for confidential or sensitive information via email:

* Call the sender to verify that the request came from that person.
* Encrypt the confidential information before sending it. (For instructions on how to encrypt information, go to https://kb.rice.edu/search.php?q=encryption&cat=0 .)
* Do not include the password in the email with the encrypted attachment. Instead, call the recipient to relay the password.

Phone calls are another method scammers are using and are especially targeting new immigrants to the U.S. Note that the IRS will never: 1) call to demand immediate payment, nor will the agency call about taxes owed without first having mailed you a bill; 2) demand that you pay taxes without giving you the opportunity to question or appeal the amount they say you owe; 3) require you to use a specific payment method for your taxes, such as a prepaid debit card; 4) ask for credit or debit card numbers over the phone; or 5) threaten to bring in local police or other law-enforcement groups to have you arrested for not paying.