We look forward to a number of seasons — football season, maybe a hunting season.

Most of us, though, don’t look forward to the season upon us. 

That’s tax season. 

It’s also a time when new, and some old, scams surface to deprive people out of their money. 

The thieves often pose as IRS agents. Often, according to the Better Business Bureau, they will take on the guise of the IRS during a phone call. They will tell you that you owe back taxes and they will make arrangements for the taxes to be paid through either a wire transfer or a prepaid debit card. They also will push you into making a decision or acting quickly.

They’ll even tell you have a refund coming and ask for personal information so they can send you the refund. That personal information, the BBB warns, can be used later for identity theft.

They will go so far as to have their caller ID show up as Washington, D.C., the BBB says.

None of that is how the IRS conducts business. Any question it has about your taxes first comest through the mail. It does not ask for immediate payment and will not ask for payment via a wire transfer or a prepaid debit card. 

The BBB provides way to identify potential tax scam calls and ways to identify tax identity theft calls on their website (bbb.org).

Tax season is painful enough for most Americans. Don’t let a scammer make it even worse.