The Truth About Tax Scams

Steve Weisman

The income tax is fertile ground for scammers. No one likes paying taxes. Unfortunately, the almost universal desire to avoid paying income taxes can be exploited by conmen with phony tax scams. There also are some people who believe that the federal income tax itself is a scam. This belief is also used by con artists to advance their scams. Even our fear of the IRS and our desire to follow the rules when contacted by them can be used against us when it comes to phony tax scams.

The “Slavery Reparations” scam, for instance, continues to be with us despite the best efforts of the federal government to quash it. Conmen tell African Americans that, for a fee, they will help them get a substantial tax credit ...