***Beware of Scams during Tax Season***
Benjamin Franklin once wrote, in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes. In the 21st Century, another near-certainty is the use of technology to perpetrate scams and take advantage of unsuspecting consumers. Beware of fraudulent emails circulating recently, claiming to be from the IRS and offering a tax refund. These messages are fraudulent; the IRS does not affirmatively contact taxpayers by email to offer refunds.
Remember several basic Internet safety tips, such as: any email address, even one that appears to be from the government, can be imitated with relative ease; or if you are contacted affirmatively via email by an unknown party, including someone claiming to be from the government, do not respond to requests for personal or financial information.
For more information about online safety for consumers, visit the community safety of this website. For more information about suspicious emails and warnings, visit the IRS website.
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Do you know what Phishing is? How about Spam? Hacking? Have you been contacted via email from somebody you don't telling you that you can get FREE money? Sound too good to be true? Well, it is.
Here is a website, one of hundreds, that explains some of the basic tools that people use to try to steal your personal information:
http://www.lookstoogoodtobetrue.com/
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Too Late? Already had your identity stolen or have fallen victim to an internet scam? The Federal Government has created a database to track and monitor these crimes. While the offenses are reported at the local level here with the Revere Police Department, it could take years for the Government to acquire and analyze the data. The website below was created so that you can direclty input the information related to your crime or scam so that the Government can quickly spot a growing trend among scams and act to arrest the perpetrators before they can victimize any more poeple. A few moments of your time can stop thousands of others from having to go through the painful experience that you have just experienced!