The Senior Scene

By Bruce Carlson 

AARP Foundation Tax-Aide service will be back providing in-person service for 2023 and is looking for compassionate and friendly people throughout Washington to join the team.

The services, which are open to anyone but are especially for people 60 and older and for those with low to moderate incomes, provide on-site service at libraries, community centers, senior centers, and other local facilities. There are no fees or sales pitches for the service, and AARP membership isn’t required.

The IRS works with Tax-Aide to make sure all tax counselors have the knowledge they need to accurately file returns. But volunteers don’t need a financial background to get involved.

“We’re emphasizing that volunteering doesn’t necessarily mean doing tax preparation,” said Cindy Gossett, a Seattle resident who is th volunteer Washington State Tax-Aide coordinator. “We have a number of other jobs that don’t involve preparing returns, such as public relations, greeters, managing our technology, and leadership positions of all types.”

More than 200,000 taxpayers were helped in Washington in 2019, the last year of in-person service due to the pandemic. Over 51,000 federal returns were filed and $4 million in refunds were obtained.

Tax-Aide operates the nation’s largest volunteer-run, free tax preparation service, and it’s the fourth largest tax return service of any type, paid or free.

“There are so many seniors and low-income people that need that kind of help. And if they have to go to a paid preparer, it’s very expensive,” said volunteer tax preparer Ron Yaden of Tacoma. “I would say 99 percent of the people we serve are extremely happy with our service at Tax-Aide. So it’s fun, it’s satisfying, and we are a pretty friendly group of volunteers. I’m always recruiting.”

“I absolutely love volunteering for Tax-Aide. It’s a great way to meet people and provide a service,” said Debby Ryan of Spokane. As a greeter, “I help check people in, make sure they’ve got the proper forms and that everything is ready.”

To find out more about this opportunity, email aarpwa@aarp.org, go online at aarp.org/taxaide, or call (888-227-7669.

Bruce Carlson is an associate state director of communications for AARP.

Scams and fraud are more deceiving these days, reaching possible victims in more ways than ever before. The FTC (Federal Trade Commission) reported 2.8 million fraud complaints from consumers in 2021 alone, with reported fraud losses increasing 70 percent from 2020 and more than $5.8 million.

“The more that we can get this information out there, the better,” Kerskie recently told T-Mobile Stories. “Unfortunately, when it comes to technology, privacy and identity theft, the same old advice that was given 10, 15 years ago is still the gospel of what you’re supposed to do. And that is outdated. None of it works. It’s not true, it’s not relevant any more.”

Scammers have expanded from targeting consumers with only traditional e-mail and phone calls. The most recent scams are occurring using person-to-person payment platforms (P2P), remote-access software, and even public Wi-Fi.

Kerskie says the most desirable accounts to criminals include bank accounts, mobile-phone accounts, credit card accounts, and Amazon accounts. With P2P payment platforms, criminals can get access to your bank account and use it to transfer money within moments.

The latest tactic that concerns Kerskie is using remote-access software to gain access to everything on your computer without having to directly ask you for things like your Social Security number, bank account, or credit card number. While many workers use remote-access software safely from their companies’ IT departments, criminals are also using this software in their scams.

Criminals also try to access your information in settings like coffee shops or libraries using public Wi-Fi. A laptop or smartphone using public Wi-Fi can easily fall victim to scams. An easy fix is to use your smartphone’s wireless data and hotspot to help keep your personal information secure.

Kerskie says there are ways to keep scammers at bay ahead of the holiday shopping season:

• Prioritize privacy. Privacy means having strong and unique passwords with a minimum of 12 characters, and for PINs using random numbers and taking advantage of extra security. Enabling multi-factor authentication on your various apps and accounts will also protect yourself from potential threats.
• Use available resources. Take advantage of the free anti-fraud safeguards offered by your mobile carrier. In the case of T-Mobile’s Scam Shield, services include enhanced caller ID, scam ID and blocking, which flags suspicious calls and gives customers the option of blocking those numbers. Additionally, customers can get a free second number to keep their personal number personal, or even change their primary number completely.
• Validate or eliminate. Whatever potential threat you come across via email, text message, letter or even a phone call, try to validate the information. If you can’t confirm the information is true or confirm the sender’s validity, throw it away, block the phone number or e-mail address, and report it as spam or junk mail.

Understanding how potential cyber threats and fraud work will help protect you this holiday season and beyond.

Source: StatePoint Media