The Louisiana Department of Revenue is advising taxpayers to be alert and to protect themselves as
identity thieves and scam artists target Louisiana taxpayers, attempting to steal money and personal information.
“Scammers often use publicly-available information to target individual taxpayers,” Secretary of Revenue Kimberly Robinson said. “Other scams, known as ‘phishing,’ cast a wider net for personal financial information that is used to engage in various kinds of fraud.”
Sometimes, a scam artist will threaten taxpayers with penalties for supposed offenses such as non-filing or non-payment, while demanding bank account numbers, Social Security numbers and other personal information used for identity theft.
The Louisiana Department of Revenue said they initiate contact with a taxpayer, usually, to ask for documentation to support tax return claims to be sent in by mail or by fax. They will never begin contact to request personal financial information.
The LDR also said that taxpayers who are delinquent on their taxes are notified through mail, never with a phone call.
The notice usually details what is owed, and how to contact someone if the taxpayer has questions or wants to challenge the notice.
To prevent fraud, a taxpayer’s identity can be verified through the mail or through the Identity Verification Quiz on the LDR website.
The Louisiana Department of Revenue asks any taxpayer who receives a call such as this to report the call to the IRS.
For more information on phishing scams, click here.