Valentine's Day is approaching, which means not only love is in the air - there will likely be increases in online dating scams as well. It's also tax season in the U.S. which means fraudsters will be out in full force, trying to trick consumers into falling for the ubiquitous IRS tax refund scams.
With a little common sense, both scams should be easy to avoid.
If your lovely foreign pen-pal claims she needs $$$ for plane tickets, custom officials, or any other reason, run - don't walk - to the nearest Close button in your email client. If not, you will likely find yourself saying farewell to your hard earned cash and there won't be a fond hello waiting from your alleged foreign beauty. Chances are, the person at the other end of the dating scam is a scraggly beefy rip-off artist.
And if the IRS sends you an email claiming you have an unclaimed tax refund, don't reply to that email or click any links provided. Remember, the IRS is an official government institution and legalities alone would preclude them from notifying customers of sensitive tax information via email. If you still believe it's legit, pickup the phone and use the yellow pages to contact your local IRS office to verify.