REGION – Happy New Year! Are you ready for the next wave of scams? Scammers have been tuning up for weeks and their efforts are coming to life. January 1 is a significant date for most of us and one that criminals anticipate.
With the tax year ending, many are collecting paperwork for filings and anticipating receipt of necessary forms. Beware of email messages, text messages, and telephone calls from government agencies such as the IRS and the Social Security Administration. The notices may carry alerts regarding unpaid tax bills, incomplete paperwork, benefits change, or a need to update files. Often the messages carry dire warnings of fines or arrest if you fail to comply immediately.
Just the receipt of such a warning can be emotionally traumatizing and establish a degree of fear. These notifications should be seen as a four-letter word in your vocabulary: scam!
Government agencies use the U. S. Postal Service for communications, not text messages, emails, or phone calls. They will not threaten you with comments like “Failure to immediately respond will result in imprisonment.”
There a few very simple steps to take:
· Don’t panic or become emotional. Take a deep breath, stop, and think.
· If you receive a phone call, hang up and don’t worry about being rude; if it’s a text or email, simply close the device window; don’t immediately erase the message.
· Use a reliable contact number and call the agency or department that allegedly issued the notice to ask if they are reaching out to you, and if not, report the scam. You will likely be asked for details including the means used by the scammer.
· After reporting the contact, erase the text or email. Never try to respond using the contact information in the scam message. Too often, the intended victim, at best, opens herself or himself to additional targeting; at worst, the intended victim provides personal information that can be used in identity theft.
Questions or concerns? Contact me at egreenblott@aarp.org. Elliott Greenblott is a retired educator and coordinator of the AARP Vermont Fraud Watch Network. He hosts a CATV program, Mr. Scammer, distributed by GNAT-TV, Sunderland, Vt. www.gnat-tv.org.