Dirty Dozen tax scams for 2013

By Vijay Kumar

THE Internal Revenue Service of USA issued its annual “Dirty Dozen” list of tax scams, reminding taxpayers to use caution during tax season to protect themselves against a wide range of schemes ranging from identity theft to return preparer fraud.

The Dirty Dozen listing, compiled by the IRS each year, lists a variety of common scams taxpayers can encounter at any point during the year.

The following are the Dirty Dozen tax scams for 2013:

Identity Theft, Phishing, Return Preparer Fraud, Hiding Income Offshore, “Free Money” from the IRS & Tax Scams Involving Social Security, Impersonation of Charitable Organizations, False/Inflated Income and Expenses, False Form 1099 Refund Claims, Frivolous Arguments, Falsely Claiming Zero Wages, Disguised Corporate Ownership, Misuse of Trusts