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Three common tax scams the IRS says to watch out for this year
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Don't be a victim of fraud. These tax scams are on the rise, and they could rob you of your well-deserved tax refund. You can help stop tax fraud by being aware and reporting suspicious activity to the right authorities. - photo by Sam Turner
They say death and taxes are life's only certainties.

Maybe not anymore.

According to Money, tax scams are up another 400 percent this year, and many Americans are being robbed of the taxman's only respite the tax refund check.

Each year the IRS releases a list called "the dirty dozen," or the top 12 tax scams of the year. Here are the most prevalent of those scams for 2016, how to avoid them, and what to do if you are a victim:

Identity theft

Tax-related identity theft means criminals stealing your Social Security number and using it to claim your tax return. That's all it takes to steal your tax return: your Social Security number.

The IRS claims to be taking greater measures for security, saying that it led 776 investigations of identity theft in 2015, leading to 774 sentencings. But these convictions are nothing compared to the number of successful identity thefts.

In 2014, 2.7 million taxpayers were victims of identity theft and 104,000 tax forms were fraudulently taken from the IRS website, reports CNN.

In order to avoid identity theft, the IRS recommends taking precautions to protect your Social Security number.

"Keep your personal information secure by protecting your computers and only giving out your Social Security numbers when absolutely necessary," says IRS Commissioner John Koskinen in the IRS statement.

You won't know if your identity has been stolen until you submit your tax return and receive a notification from the IRS saying that a return has already been filed with your Social Security number, says TurboTax.

At this point, you will have to submit IRS Form 14039 with a copy of your Social Security card and a government-issued ID.

TurboTax also warns that if someone has filed a tax return in your name, they probably have enough of your information to cause other problems for you. Freeze your credit report file and report the identity theft to your local police and the Federal Trade Commission.

Phony phone calls and emails

Criminals will often impersonate IRS officials over the phone, threatening legal action, arrest, deportation and other unpleasantries.

They then use these threats to elicit payments, get credit information over the phone or otherwise con people into giving them money.

"Don't be fooled by callers pretending to be from the IRS in an attempt to steal your money," said Koskinen. If you are surprised to be hearing from us, then you're not hearing from us.

Scammers will similarly use a method called "phishing," or sending emails that appear to be from the IRS in order to get your personal information.

It should be noted that these communications may appear to be legitimately coming from the IRS. Caller IDs can easily be changed to the IRS using inexpensive and technically legal online services, according to ScamBusters.org. Emails can bear official IRS insignia and persuasive language.

But a tell-tale sign that you are being scammed is if the caller or emailer does one of these things which the IRS says it will never do:

  • Calls to demand immediate payment. The IRS won't call about taxes owed without first having mailed you a bill.
  • Demands that you pay taxes without giving you the opportunity to question or appeal the amount the caller says you owe.
  • Requires you to use a specific payment method for your taxes, such as a prepaid debit card.
  • Asks for credit or debit card numbers over the phone.
  • Requests personal or financial information by unsolicited email.
  • Threatens to bring in local police or other law-enforcement groups to have you arrested for not paying.
If you think you are being scammed, do not give any information. Hang up the phone if a caller is threatening you. Don't open any suspicious emails and don't click on any links which could install malware on your computer.

If you have any questions about the authenticity of calls or emails, it is always better to call the IRS yourself at 800-829-1040.

Fraudulent phone calls should be reported to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration and to the Federal Trade Commission. Suspicious emails should be forwarded to phishing@irs.gov.

Tax preparer fraud

Though most tax professionals are trustworthy, some tax-return preparers are looking to take advantage of their clients, says the IRS.

These scammers may mislead taxpayers by falsely promising high returns, or they may make unwarranted tax deductions on your return.

In order to make sure your tax preparer is legitimate, you should verify his Preparer Tax Identification Number, which all paid tax preparers are required to have.

You can also check the preparer's qualifications on the IRS Directory of Federal Tax Return Preparers with Credentials and Select Qualifications.

The IRS also cautions about taking tax advice from preparers or others that may be illegal. These tax behaviours include offshore tax avoidance, falsely "padding" or inflating tax deduction claims.

You should also avoid "frivolous tax arguments," which are outlandish claims and deductions. Forbes reported a list of people whose "crazy sounding tax deductions" were upheld by the tax court, including a woman who wrote off cat food as a "charitable contribution."

While these people have chosen to defend their outlandish tax deductions, if your claims are found to be frivolous, you could be slapped with a $5,000 fine.
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How to avoid 'sharenting' and other paparazzi parenting habits
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A recent study revealed parents often spend up to two hours staging a single photo of his or her child to post online. - photo by Amy Iverson
Before having kids, some people just dont appreciate their friends baby posts. But after having a child of their own, three fourths of new parents jump right on the parental social media bandwagon. If you have become a member of this group, there are some rules to follow for posting responsibly.

Much of a parents worry is how to teach their children to use social media responsibly. We talk with our kids about privacy, oversharing, and setting restrictions on their devices to keep them safe. But parents themselves need to look in the digital mirror once in a while. Before having children, it doesnt take as much effort to think about what to post online. Its up to us to decide what we share about our own lives. But once you become a parent, there are many questions to think about regarding what is appropriate to post about your kids on social media.

In a recent survey, kids clothing subscription company Mac and Mia surveyed 2000 new parents to find out how they are documenting their kids lives on social media, and what concerns they may have.

First of all, people without children seem to feel a bit differently about the onslaught of baby pictures online than those who are parents. 18 percent of people say before they had kids, they were annoyed by their friends baby posts. But after having children of their own, 73 percent admit they post progress pictures of their little ones every single month.

Not only are new parents letting the world know each time their baby is a month older, but they are posting about their kids every few days or so. Men and women report they post 6-7 times per month about their baby.

And while 70 percent of new parents say the benefit of using social media is how easy it is to help family and friends feel involved, there are some downsides. Here are a few tips to avoid the pitfall of becoming paparazzi parents.

Dont miss the moment

In the Mac and Mia survey, some parents admitted to spending up to two hours to get the perfect shot of their baby. That seems a little extreme. New and old parents alike should be careful about spending so much time taking pictures and videos that they dont enjoy the moment. Years ago, I decided to never live an experience through my phone. A study by Linda Henkel, a psychology professor at Fairfield University in Connecticut, found that when people took pictures of objects in an art museum, they didnt remember the objects as well as if they simply observed them.

This photo-taking impairment effect can happen to parents as well. If we are so consumed by getting the perfect photo, we can miss out on the moment all together, and our memory of it will suffer.

Dont forget about privacy

60 percent of couples say they have discussed rules and boundaries for posting their babys photos, according to the Mac and Mia survey. Even so, men are 34 percent more likely to publish baby posts on public accounts. If parents are concerned about their childrens privacy, keeping photos off of public accounts is a given.

In the Washington Post, Stacey Steinberg, a legal skills professor at the University of Florida, and Bahareh Keith, a Portland pediatrician, wrote that sharing too much information about kids online puts them at risk. They write that all that sharenting can make it easier for data thieves to target out kids for identity theft. Check that your privacy settings are where they should be and never share identifying information like full names and birth dates.

Dont be paparazzi parents

36 percent of parents say they take issue when their childs photo is posted online by someone else. Responsible social media users will always ask permission before posting a photo of another child. But parents should also think about whether their own children will take issue with their own posted photos a few years down the road.

When parents are constantly snapping pictures and throwing them on social media, it can be easy to forget to pause and make sure the post is appropriate. I always use the billboard example with my kids. I ask them to picture whatever they are posting going up on a billboard in our neighborhood. If they are okay with that, then their post is probably fine. Parents should ask themselves this same question when posting about their children. But they should also ask themselves if their child would be OK with this post on a billboard in 15 years. If it would cause embarrassment or humiliation, it might be best to keep it private.

Once children reach an appropriate age, parents should include them in the process of deciding what pictures are OK to post. Researchers at the University of Michigan surveyed 10- to 17-year-olds and found children believe their parents should ask permission more than parents think they should. The kids in the survey said sharing happy family moments, or accomplishments in sports, school and hobbies is fine. But when the post is negative (like when a child is disciplined) or embarrassing (think naked baby pictures or messy hair), kids say to keep it off social media.
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