FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. — Identity Theft Awareness Week kicks off Monday. 

Experts are urging people to keep personal and financial information safe from scammers when filing returns.

Financial professional Alan Porter with Strategic Wealth Strategies of Fayetteville says it’s important that people understand the types of tax scams to look out for.

“Watch out for phone calls, emails and text messages from people who claim to be from the IRS. Scammers could find ways to phish for your Social Security number and bank account information,” Porter said.

The IRS will never email, text or call you asking for personal information.

“Poor grammar, hostile tone or threats to call law enforcement are also signs of a scammer at work. If someone requests payment with gift cards, prepaid cards or wire transfers, this is most likely a scam,” he said.

Look out for social media scams as well, Porter says. Scammers may impersonate you and go after your family and friends, and some scams target seniors because of their age. 

Porter says one way to protect yourself from tax identity theft is to safeguard your devices.

“If you choose to file your taxes online, make sure you have security software with firewall and anti-virus protections. Do not use public Wi-Fi; instead, use a private, password-protected connection,” he said.

Porter also recommends filing early and says it’s a defense against tax identity theft because the IRS allows only one tax return per Social Security number. 

If you are a victim of identity theft, the first step you need to take is contact the IRS as soon as possible. Document everything and keep in contact with the IRS until the issue is resolved.

You can file an identity theft complaint with the Federal Trade Commission. 

“You may also want to file a report with the local police and contact the fraud departments of the three major credit bureaus,” Porter said.