Tax Refunds & Advice

If you are not careful, you could end up being scammed big time while waiting for your economic stimulus check to arrive. As soon as news reports confirmed that these checks would be sent out to millions of Americans, scammers began to work on plans to “profit” from this situation. In today’s day and age, the best way to do this is through the internet. And as many have already found out, scammers are hitting email accounts hard and more than likely achieving the desired results.

Generally speaking, the way that these scammers are working is quite simple. They send out hundreds of thousands of emails posing as the IRS. Within the email, the scammer tells you to click a link in order to “claim” your money. Of course, this link does nothing more than install spyware on your computer. So what, right? Wrong! Now that this spyware is downloaded on your computer, the scammer can see every move that you make. And this includes online banking information, credit card details, personal passwords, and much more.

To avoid these scams, stay smart and avoid any emails that are suspicious. Remember, the IRS is never going to email you for further information or to collect personal data. When you file your annual return they receive everything that they need.

And of course, you should never click on a link that you do not trust. You can open any email message that you want, but the moment that you click a link or download a file you are compromising the security of your personal computer.

You want to make sure that you are personally benefiting from your economic stimulus check; not somebody else.