Today's Article

"We are reaching you to inform you the 1IRS is 2filing a lawsuit against you."

Urgent messages claiming to be from the Internal Revenue Service.

But more likely, it's a 3scam.

"The bad thing about scammers and 4schemers is they change their 5tactics. So there's always a new thing that they're using."

Stacey Engle with IRS says if there is an issue with your taxes or if you owe money, the IRS will send you a letter in the mail.

She says the IRS will never contact you through a text message and will only call or email you if you've given them permission to do so.

If someone does call 6claiming to be the IRS, Engle says to tell the caller you want to 7verify who they are.

Ask questions.

"We are not going to get mad at you if you say, 'I'm not giving you any information.' The IRS will explain to you what your balance is. They will let you pay via check, money order, direct deposit, credit card, debit card."

The IRS will then direct you to make a payment online or by mail. They will never 8demand payment over the phone.

"If an IRS employee calls you, they 9are assigned to your account. So their name should be on any 10notice that you've received."

Engle says the letter will also include a QR code, which will take you to the IRS website.

When filing online, how can you protect your personal information, especially if you need to email your 11W-2 to an accountant?

"Emailing any documents with your 12Social Security Number is not a great idea."

Kristin Lewis with 13identity protection company Aura says 14black out all personal information before sending it.

Never work on tax documents using a public Wi-Fi network. And if you are sending personal data, use password-protected 15encryption.