Avoid Scams this Tax Season

By: Corbin Lingenfelter, News Director

Dubois County- You know of the four main seasons, winter, spring, summer and fall.

However there is another season that falls during the winter one, tax season. The IRS officially welcomed tax season on January 23rd by accepting electronic filings. With tax season could come a dangerous presence that seeks to steal from you, scammers. 

Scammers will call, text or even email you claiming to be someone they are not to try and deceive you of your personal information and money. 

“From 2021-2022 the Dubois County Sheriff’s Office received reports of one hundred and nine scams,” shared Detective Donna Hurt with the Dubois County Sheriff’s Office (DCSO), “That’s an average of nine calls a month.”

Hurt says those numbers are relatively high for the county. She says not all of those calls were from tax scams. 

Some of the ways the scammers try to deceive you is by claiming to be a member of law enforcement and say you will be arrested if you do not pay them what they claim you owe. Detective Hurt shared, “If it’s coming from an unknown number or the sheriff’s office, our local agencies will not call, text or email information about tax warrants.” 

Some things to look out for when receiving a call from someone claiming to be the IRS:

• You are contacted out of the blue
• They want you to send money upfront
• They want you to use unconventional payment (i.e. gift cards)
• You are asked to provide personal and financial information

To help you know what to do if you suspect a scammer has called you, Detective Hurt created the following acronym:

L- Look at the Caller ID

I- Identify the caller

A- Ask Questions

R- Return the Call/Hang up and call back

S- Secure your information

“These people are professional LIARS,” Detective Hurt, “That’s how I came up with this acronym.”

The Dubois County Sheriff’s Office has more details on how to prevent scams and go about reporting a suspected one on their Facebook page and also their app.