Tax season is a prime time for scammers and UNM IT would like to remind you of the many ways fraud can occur during tax season, whether in-person, over the telephone, through regular mail and even via email.
As tax documents, including your W-2, are delivered, this is an especially vulnerable time for mail theft. Watch your mail closely for your W-2, 1099, and other tax documents.
UNM IT is also seeing an increase in phishing email targeting people for personal tax information. Some of these phishing emails may seem to be from the IRS, a bank, and even someone from UNM. Here are a few things you should be aware of so you can avoid tax-season scams:
- The IRS will never email or call you. Do not give out your social security number and personal information over the telephone or through email. The IRS contacts taxpayers via registered mail.
- Never click on links in an email from an unknown sender. If you open such a link don’t enter your private information or bank account. Copy the link, then go to the website from a browser and paste the URL.
- Use your UNM email for UNM business only. It is easier to spot a phishing email if you separate your personal business from UNM. For example, if you registered your PayPal account with your personal email, then any PayPal related email you see in your UNM mailbox is probably a phishing email.
- Do not use an unknown hotspot or public Wi-Fi network to file your tax return or to do your banking. Anyone can harvest your data over a public Wi-Fi network.
- Always use a virtual private network, or VPN, if you have to work while traveling.
For more information about tax season scams, go to the IRS website for the latest scam alerts, or visit UNM Payroll for helpful tax resources and information.
