Scammers In IRS Clothing Are Targeting College Students
b'With Kelly Erb, tax specialist and writer for Forbes.com
Seniors aren\\u2019t the only group targeted by scammers. On the other end of the spectrum, college students are perfect prey for fraudsters in IRS clothing.
Kelly Erb, a tax expert and writer for Forbes.com, has investigated what\\u2019s behind a new warning from the IRS regarding a scam aimed specifically at college students. In this case, the scammers phone the students saying that they owe a federal student tax which must be paid immediately by wire, usually by Moneygram, an untraceable form of payment, and, if they don\\u2019t comply immediately, the police will be contacted.
First of all, there is no such thing as a federal student tax; it\\u2019s simply another device aimed at this specific group of young people. The tactics used to frighten these students\\u2014who otherwise might be skeptical\\u2014include giving them information such as where they go to school, where they live, the name of a parent perhaps, and even their social security number, anything to make the caller sound legitimate. These schemes can be particularly frightening for a student dependent on student loans or financial aid and is unaware of tax laws or how the IRS works.
Kelly stresses that, no matter what the case, we should all be aware that the IRS will never make initial contact over the phone or via email. If there ever is an issue, the IRS will send a written letter through the mail stating exactly what you owe and why; and, furthermore, they will never call asking for verification of information. If that happens, you can be assured the scammers are on the other end of the line.
If money is legitimately owed to the IRS, they also will never demand payment in one form only, such as a Moneygram or a debit card, or even\\u2014and this has happened\\u2014with gift cards. Kelly says that over a million dollars have been paid out to these crooks in ITune cards from unsuspecting victims.
And never, never, she adds, should you engage with them over the phone thinking you can scare them because, as she says, \\u201cthe problem is that these scammers, once they realize that you\'re an easy victim and they get what they want, they don\'t stop calling.\\xa0 They actually ramp up their efforts.\\u201d And then \\u201cthe chances of you getting tricked are even greater because they can actually coax information out of you, maybe not money, but information about you that is very, very helpful to them, such as you might say, \\u2018I\'m going to tell my dad.\\xa0 He\'s a lawyer.\\u2019 "
Kelly has a cautionary note for anyone who may be in default of student loan payments at some point in their lives: Never ignore any legitimate contact from the IRS concerning money that you owe for student debt. You can be assured you won\\u2019t be shipped off to debtor\\u2019s prison in some remote penal colony, but you will need to respond appropriately and to show up in court, if necessary.
As for targeting those scammers who are targeting vulnerable students, the IRS has issued a new warning at the beginning of this school year to both students and their parents to be vigilant and on the lookout for the bad guys on the phone or on your email.'