Instead, look up the charity on the Exempt Organizations Select Check tool to see if it’s legitimate. At Intuit TurboTax, we place the highest importance on protecting our customers’ data and privacy. We are doing our best to stop phishers and protect our customers. TurboTax will post any known alerts at security.intuit.com to help people separate the fact from what is fake. The site includes advice on how to protect your identity and your computer from criminals. To get a better idea of what a phishing email might look like, you can find examples at security.intuit.com.
Answer simple questions and TurboTax Free Edition takes care of the rest. With TurboTax Live Full Service, a local expert matched to your unique situation will do your taxes for you start to finish. Or, get unlimited help https://turbo-tax.org/ and advice from tax experts while you do your taxes with TurboTax Live Assisted. And if you want to file your own taxes, you can still feel confident you’ll do them right with TurboTax as we guide you step by step.
- The best and only way to reach official TurboTax support is through TurboTax.com and our Contact Us page.
- It’s pretty certain that the crooks set up the links to show one address, but actually go to other websites pretending to be Intuit pages.
- TurboTax will post any known alerts at security.intuit.com to help people separate the fact from what is fake.
- If someone tells you to sign a blank tax return or estimates your taxes off the top of their head, it’s best to be skeptical.
- Our security technology is built with the decades of experience we have protecting our customers’ data.
Freeman insists that people should use only a tax service that is well-known, established or registered with the IRS. “While taxpayers have the right to contest their tax liabilities in court, no one has the right to disobey the law or IRS guidance,” the IRS notes in “IRS Summarizes “Dirty Dozen” List of Tax Scams for 2017.” Unfortunately, this scam is often successful because people are taught to be scared of the IRS, said Kelly Phillips Erb, a Philadelphia-based tax attorney and founder of the blog taxgirl.com. Real experts – to help or even do your taxes for you.
This scam is easy to spot, however, because the IRS never contacts people via email, Erb said. This was likely the result of someone mistyping their own User ID or E-mail address when attempting to gain access to their own account. I got this same email from Turbotax, so instead of clicking on the email, I logged into TurboTax (after they sent me both a text and email verification) and tried to figure out what was going on. It’s fairly confusing since Turbotax provided it, but they don’t have a way to log into it.
Paul Wagenseil is a senior editor at Tom’s Guide focused on security and privacy. He has also been a dishwasher, fry cook, long-haul driver, code monkey and video editor. You can follow his rants on Twitter at @snd_wagenseil.
Unfortunately, tax thieves may try to take this joy away from you by filing an income tax return in your name and collecting the earnings you deserve. They do this by getting ahold turbotax spoof email of your SSN and other sensitive bits of information to fill out the form’s questions. Tax thieves learned to take an unconventional approach with gift card scams.
However, these complex tax-avoidance schemes are often illegal, and the IRS prosecutes scammers who create and sell them, along with taxpayers who participate. If you are uncertain if a complicated tax product is legitimate, seek an independent opinion before getting involved. Meanwhile, some TurboTax users may still have to deal with the fallout of last week’s issue, when thousands of suspicious state tax returns were filed. The FCC is cautioning small businesses, as well, as some have reported getting scam calls about virus-related funding or loans and online listing verification.
Taxpayer Advocate scams
He could be waiting for this tax refund for up to six months. “We have temporarily disabled your account due to inactivity,” the messages warn. Intuit didn’t know the motive for the scam, but said that phishing scams in general aim to “lure individuals into revealing personal information or expose them to downloads of malware that will infect their computer.” What do your SSN, address, and birthdate have in common? They’re all part of your identity that tax thieves are trying to steal!
Help and Support
Intuit also owns the QuickBooks accounting software and the Mint personal-finance app, and a purloined password would also open up those accounts. It’s tax-preparation season in much of the world, and in the U.S. and Canada, millions of people are firing up their TurboTax tax-preparation software to get started on their returns. We require email validation at e-file, which means that if anybody entered your email address by mistake, they’ll be forced to correct it when they attempt to e-file.
How to Estimate Your Stimulus Check [Infographic]
Intuit uses a wide variety of email addresses for incoming and outgoing email, but they end with intuit.com or e.intuit.com. Norton 360™ with LifeLock™, all-in-one protection against evolving threats to your connected devices, online privacy and identity. The IRS will only contact you via mail whereas scammers will contact you through email or text.
Always feel free to contact us if you have any concerns about your privacy. Mire, from San Francisco, claimed that they tried to use the free software offered by the company but ended up paying money during their tax filing process. Consumers who did interact with the email are being urged to delete any downloads that occurred, scan their devices for any security threats, and change their passwords. This is called a refund anticipation loan, a short-term loan backed by an expected tax refund. It is perfectly legal, but it can be construed as a scam nonetheless, Brooks said.
IRS phone scams
Click here for more information about avoid tax related scams. Please click Avoid phishing scams and spoofed sites to learn more. IRS scammers have gone as far as to use our good nature against us. Because you may be able to claim deductions from the charity donations you made during the year, cybercriminals often create fake charities for you to donate to. They rake in your money as you think you’re doing a good deed.
