I write about tax scams a few times a year because there is never a stop to the warnings coming out about scammers using new tactics to try to frighten or bully people into paying money. Well here is the good news, I have nothing new to report on that front today!

But then, of course, the bad news …

These attempts by scammers never stop and I wanted to speak a little more about the use of email in these scams, for I am afraid that I may not focus on those enough. Yet, email remains the prime mode that most of the potential scams that come into our life.

I think I may not have given enough attention to this tactic because I find it so easy to ignore. For one, all large email providers have pretty good filters that put a lot of the potential bad emails into a spam or junk folder. I do recommend checking these folders periodically to see what has been placed in there (for occasionally ones you do want to see get shuttled there), but if you don’t recognize the sender, delete them all.

Another reason emails seem easier to ignore is because they are less personal. If you answer a phone call from someone actually voicing they are trying to collect on taxes, your emotions muddle the mind more than reading an email that says the same thing. You also have to react more immediately to that voice on the phone than words on a screen.

What can be most malicious about those emails, though, is the way they can linger even if you do delete them. This usually happens if you let them install something on your computer. So a big word of advice is never download anything from an unknown sender no matter what the email says it is. Beyond that, keep yourself extra safe by never even opening an email from an unknown sender if it contains attachments.

For remember, if the IRS really wants to get in contact with you, it is not going to start doing so via email. The agency sends notices by regular postal mail first. So I’m not saying that you’re never going to receive an email from the IRS in your life, but if you think you’re receiving news that way about a potential issue for that first time that’s asking you to pay money, don’t trust it.

Furthermore, even if these are legitimate issues, they are never issues that you have to handle by yourself. Even if you prepared your own taxes, that doesn’t mean that you can’t seek outside help from someone to understand the situation instead of only being fed information from those seeking to collect a debt from you. So if you’re not sure where you stand, at best this outside help can alert you to a potential scam. At worst, that help can help you mitigate whatever legitimate issues you are facing.

So when it comes to any potential scam, don’t be rash and remember that we are always here to help guide you through all tax matters, even those ones.

Occasionally in this space I like to pass along general business advice outside of the financial realm. I am not trying to claim any great expertise in the area, but through my own journey and by watching and listening to those of my clients, there are some ideas that I know contain value. I found one of these earlier this week.

I was cleaning out my email when I noticed this article from Inc.com was claiming there were five words that make every meeting better. I have been in enough awful meetings in my life that I was compelled to look. I imagine I’m not the only who has been in those situations, so I’ll tell you those words here – “Who’ll do what by when?”

I’ll now try to leave aside my snarky immediate response that the contraction is a cheap device to make this come in at only five words. Besides that, I think this does get to the meat of the issue of why some meetings can feel so pointless.

Because it’s not all meetings that feel pointless. We leave some feeling that much has been accomplished and that much will continue to be accomplished. It is the ones where it feels like nothing got done that are so trying. You know, the ones that did not have an answer to those five (or six) words.

There is so much underlying those words that may seem obvious, but their explicit statement can make you feel more productive and on a good track. First is simple momentum. You want to be working on tasks that are leading somewhere. You want to be working with others who are working on tasks that are leading somewhere. Laying out where you are going helps the finish line feel closer.

Second is making your time feel valuable. If you’re meeting to just talk about how great you are and high-five each other over the table, then that meeting was unnecessary. There are parts of doing a job that just become part of the standard operation and they don’t need to be discussed. The time spend going those things is still worth something, but discussing them is not. If you can answer that five-word question at the end of meeting with something you haven’t done before, that is more valuable.

I want to finish now by focusing on the time element of the question. Note that it’s not only who is going to do what, but when. For you do want to keep up that momentum I mentioned, but it is going to feel pretty weak if the next steps are a year away. It may feel like not everything needs a deadline, and sure, some tasks are not pressing, but those tasks may never get done if they do not have a time element placed upon them.

So take this with you on how you approach meetings, and even how you approach your own work in your mind. Being deliberate keeps things in the front of your mind, keeps them moving forward, and helps see that they are accomplished.

Last week I wrote about the incoming Hurricane Dorian and how it looked like it was about to create a moment when we had to remember the necessity of binding together in our shared humanity to help those who needed aid. Since then, we have seen images from the Bahamas showing a path of destruction that is absolutely devastating and heart breaking.

So consider this another reminder/plea to help to the best of your ability.

Much of what touches us about such scenes is a natural empathy. We don’t need to hear personal stories to immediately understand the feelings one would have when faced with such a situation, to find so much of what was yours destroyed. Take it as a warning then to make sure you are doing what you can to make it through such a situation if you are ever faced with such misfortune.

This doesn’t come from any prepper standpoint. There can certainly be some wisdom in making sure your home is provisioned with food and water that could survive without electricity, but it is not my place to give such advice there. I can, however, urge that you keep your finances in mind when it comes to imagining such events.

For instance, do you have all necessary documents backed up somewhere? It is a good thing to keep key documents in containers that can survive calamity, but it can also only take a minimal amount of time and effort to see that you have digital backups. This can be even more key for a business, because it could take many hours to reconstruct your books if you lose paper documents or a computer where you kept the only copy of your company’s financial file.

I don’t want to list out everything you may want to think about when it comes to preparing for disasters, but here is a link to a short IRS YouTube video that can help you continue brainstorming about actions you should take.

And sure, videos made by the IRS don’t sound like the greatest way to spend your time. I am frequently deeply involved with issues concerning the agency and I never want to fire up some popcorn and settle on the couch to take in some tax information. Such things, however, are great for communicating important information via media that can reach a lot of people. This is actually something that the IRS is pretty good at.

The agency has even prepared this web page that aggregates information about Hurricane Dorian. There is not a lot on the page, for thankfully the storm did not carry the same level of destruction to the United States, so necessary IRS actions were minimal. But it is still good to know that such actions are taken when needed and the government communicates them to the public in multiple ways.

So just know such things exist, take some preparedness actions if needed, and let’s all hope together that it won’t be necessary to have such discussions many more times throughout the rest of the year.

As I write this, it is still unknown just how much damage Hurricane Dorian is going to dish out. Suffice to say that it has already done enough to be a sobering reminder about the power of nature and how quickly it can affect our lives.

I say these words often when disasters strike, but it is important every time, so continue to remember those in need. In past years we could talk about how giving to charity was good for your tax picture, and sure, that is no longer the case for many taxpayers, but that does not mean being generous and compassionate has become a bad idea. Giving to those in need is one of the best things one can do to feel good about what you’re doing with your money. Even if it is just a small amount, it is warming to know that you did more with your money than making a frivolous purchase.

(And really, no judgment, we all make frivolous purchases.)

The IRS is on top of this all well, as it always is. After such disasters (no matter what form they come in), the agency gives some leeway to those affected at least in the form of loosening of deadlines. So if you are ever affected in such a way, keep an eye out for that so you can keep your mind on more important matters.

I am going to keep this week’s blog shorter so that we can simply take time to think of these more important matters. Coming off Labor Day weekend, many of have just indulged in some pleasurable activities, celebrating the end of summer in the presence of families and friends. We band together in those times of happiness and let’s not forget to band together in times of sadness. From either end, it is heartening to remember our shared humanity.