The tax filing season officially starts on January 27th, but free-filing is already underway with the IRS.
This time of year comes with a warning...
"There are plenty of IRS schemes and scams out there. Please don't fall for these scams."
Wayne Picone, Regional Director with the Seniors Vs. Crime Project out of the Florida Attorney General's Office says people routinely fall for scams that most of us may think are obvious...but it's not necessarily that way for our parents.
"It's just out of fear. For 70 years you never had a problem. Then all of a sudden you get a phone call from somebody that's a little gruff, a little tough and you kind of panic. So when you're a little bit confused and you're a little bit intimidated, you just follow along."
He reminds us that the IRS won't initiate contact by phone or email and will never accept gift cards for payment of owed taxes.
Seniors Vs. Crime is a special project of the AG's Office, run by senior volunteers to help battle scams and other types of fraud committed against our elderly population.
Call 1-800-203-3099 to report a suspected crime or attempted crime.
Click Here for more details on the program.
Photo: Getty Images