As if paying taxes isnt painful enough, there are also scammers, hackers, and thieves out there who want to make the process even more challenging. We want to take a little time this issue to remind you of how to avoid year-end tax scams, and what you can do if the Equifax hack has affected you and your family. Perhaps the best thing to do is to remind everyone what the IRS wont do. In the past several years, thousands of people have lost millions of dollars and their personal information to tax scams, identity theft, and illegitimate IRS communications. Criminals will often use mail, telephone, fax or email. Always remember that the IRS doesnt initiate contact with taxpayers by any means to obtain your personal or financial information. The IRS also does not threaten taxpayers with lawsuits, imprisonment or other enforcement. They also dont use channels like social media or text messages and dont send unsolicited emails. They wont call to demand payment theyll always send a bill in