The IRS has released the top 12 worst tax scams for 2015. It looks like crooks’ favorite way to deceive taxpayers is by calling them and pretending to be the IRS. This is followed by “phishing” emails.

The IRS will never initiate contact with you via phone. If you get a phone call asking for personal information (like your social security number), demanding payment on a bill with a credit or debit card, or threatening to have you arrested, you are victim of a scam.

The IRS also does not initiate contact with you via email. If you get an unsolicited email that appears to be from the IRS asking for personal information, beware. Send any suspicious emails to phishing@irs.gov.

Here’s the full list:

Phone scams.
Phishing.
Identity theft.
Return preparer fraud.
Hiding income offshore.
Inflated refund claims.
Fake charities.
Filing false documents to hide income.
Participating in abusive tax shelters.
Falsifying income to claim tax credits.
Excessive claims for fuel tax credits.
Frivolous tax arguments.

To read more about these check out this Journal of Accountancy article.

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I find this shocking. If the government wants to know where to focus IRS audit efforts it should take a look at the earned income credit program. I’m sure there are plenty of needy people who benefit from the program, but the abuse is outrageous.

“In all, the IRS said it wrongly distributed as much as a quarter of Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) payments, to the tune of between $11.6 billion and $13.6 billion, according to Treasury’s inspector general for tax administration. Between 2003 and 2012, the IRS erroneously paid out at least $110.8 billion and as much as $132.6 billion, the new report says.”