Be Aware of Tax Scams Trying to Steal Your Refunds

According to USA Today, one of the hottest new scams out there involves scam artists who file phony tax returns in the hopes of getting a relatively low tax refund.

They're no longer just out to steal thousands of dollars by tapping into generous tax credits.

For at least the last two years, experts have seen fraudsters try to lodge low dollar refund claims hoping that those smaller numbers will encounter less scrutiny when being processed by tax authorities.

According to the director of H & R Block's Tax Institute, even after writing about tax refund fraud for roughly 10 years, we are amazed at how nimble these crooks continue to be.

Back in 2011, we had to report a scheme where fraudsters found Social Security numbers of the deceased online and used that information to file phony returns and collect fraudulent refund checks.

As a crackdown hit that arena, the crooks adjusted and tried new tricks. Tax refund fraud centers on using stolen ID information and it's often run by large criminal enterprises who have an elaborate system in place.