Thousands of taxpayers each year fall victim to tax scams. With the use of technology, it is becoming easier for tax scammers to dupe taxpayers, but taxpayers can use information to protect themselves.

When you receive any unsolicited calls or messages from the IRS or a well-known institution, never respond to them using the same communication channel. Instead of responding to the communication, get the authentic phone number or email address of the institution from their website or another source, and use it to communicate. Make sure that you do not click on any links or attachments in any unsolicited emails, as they can lead you to fake web pages designed to steal information.

If the person communicating with you tries to intimidate you, simply hang up and try to find out the identity of the person. If you continue to receive intimidating calls or messages, report the incident(s) to the police, the Internal Revenue Service, the Federal Trade Commission, and/or a law enforcement agency.

Never share any personal (date of birth, name, etc.), financial (PIN, passwords, bank account numbers, etc.), and tax (Social Security Number, filing status, etc.) information with anybody without first authenticating their identity using your own resources. Scammers often use fake identities to get taxpayers to share their information that is then used by the scammers to carry out financial and tax crimes. Therefore, be careful before sharing information with anybody over the phone, on the Internet or on personal visits.