The IRS warns that taxpayers could see the same kind of tricks
August 1, 2023
Now that Prime Day is behind it, Amazon isjumping in with both feet against scammers pretending to be from the company who are trying to defraud consumers.
Fake order confirmations now account for more than 50% of the Amazon impersonation scams reported by its customers, but the latest impersonation tactics Amazon is seeing and wants consumers to be aware of are:
Prime Membership Scams, where unexpected calls/texts/emails are sent out that refer to a costly membership fee or an issue with a persons membership. In those messages/calls, the scammer asks the person to confirm or cancel the charge. But more importantly, what these scammers want is for you to provide payment or bank account information in order to reinstate your Prime membership.
Account Suspension/Deletion Scams, where texts/emails are sent stating that your account will be suspended or deleted and prompt you to click on a fraudulent link to verify your account. These pages are designed to lure customers into providing account information like payment information or login credentials.
Impersonation scams are an industry-wide issue that affect retailers and consumers alike. Scams today are complex and bad actors use many methods when attempting to scam consumers, Scott Knapp, director of WW Buyer Risk Protection at Amazon, told ConsumerAffairs.
Our obsession with customers motivates our commitment to ensuring scammers are not using our brand to take advantage of people who trust us. We are diligently working to help educate consumers to avoid scams, ensure consumers know its us, and ensure scammers are held accountable."
"We encourage consumers to report suspected scams to us so that we can protect their accounts and refer bad actors to law enforcement. Please visit our help pages to find additional information on how to identify scams and report them at amazon.com/ReportAScam.
There could be IRS impersonators showing up on your front porch soon
As part of its transformation efforts, the IRS has ended unannounced revenue officer visits to taxpayers. And guess what that little change leaves a big opening for scammers to crawl through and scam taxpayers.
Danny Werfel, IRS commissioner, says scam artists appear at people's doors posing as IRS agents, creating confusion not only for taxpayers but also for law enforcement.
"These visits created extra anxiety for taxpayers already wary of potential scam artists," Werfel said. "At the same time, the uncertainty around what IRS employees faced when visiting these homes created stress for them as well. This is the right thing to do and the right time to end it."
Taxpayers can now expect appointment letters, Werfel said, but noted that there are limited situations where unannounced visits will occur. There are rare instances when summonses and subpoenas must be served and sensitive enforcement activities must be conducted, including seizure of assets, particularly those that may be beyond government reach.
To put this in perspective, these types of situations typically number less than a few hundred each year a small fraction compared to the tens of thousands of unannounced visits that typically occurred annually under the old policy, the agency noted.
So how can a taxpayer sort out who an IRS scammer is vs. the real deal? The agency says if someone knocks on your door and says theyre from the IRS, you should always ask for credentials or identification.
Real IRS representatives can always provide two forms of official credentials, the agency said. The most important is an HSPD-12 card a government-wide standard form of identification for federal employees.
For more information, visit How to Know if it's Really the IRS Calling or Knocking on Your Door on IRS.gov, and the IRS Taxpayer Bill of Rights.