hi, everyone, welcome to "on the money." i'm contessa brewer. no safety in numbers, how scammers can get to your tax returns and the new way they're striking. >> you name it, they'll sell it. >> spring has sprung for most of the country and that might mean it's time to put your house on the market. the best month, week, and even day to list your house. they do a whole lot more than just sell cookies these days, how girl scouts have moved into the 21st century. and the new sport where the best training is playing video games. really. "on the money" starts right now. >> announcer: this is "on the money."

your money, your life, your future. >> we beginning with your taxes. if you haven't filed yet, a cyber criminal could beat you to it. they can buy your tax data, file a return in your name and then steal your refund and that's only one way fraud sters are trying to get your money. andrea day has this week's cover story, tax fraud tactics. >> reporter: your w-2 could be for sale on the dark web. ibm took us into the online marketplaces criminals use to buy and sell private information. >> you name us, they'll sell it. >> reporter: the stores look like legitimate websites and even include ratings for sellers. >> i've created a model that you can trust in an untrusted environment. >> reporter: and he says this season, a rush on w-2s, like these for sale right now. >> it says it's people with high wages so you should have higher tax returns. >> reporter: so how do the bad guys get their hands an your w-2? in one scheme, they send an

e-mail that looks like it's from the irs or a tax provider but if you click on the link, you're just giving data away. >> we've seen 400% increase in the number of e-mails going out that have tax scams. >> reporter: in another plot, they pretend to be a top exec at your company. >> someone in an hr department or finance department get what looks like an e-mail from the ceo saying i need all the w-2s for our employers, send them along to me. >> reporter: armed with the info, cyber criminals can submit w-2s to the irs and claim the refund, even before you file and there's more. mayor says the undercover crooks are sending e-mails that look like the tax return you're expecting. >> if you click on that, you get infected with a form of malware that can do anything from harvest yourg banking credentials to locking don your computer. >> reporter: according to the

irs, these types of frauds are growing. but there's good news. the irs says it's getting better at figuring out what claims are legit before money is handed over to the swindlers. >> we can tell if a churt's being used to file 30 returns, that's probably a false set of returns, that's by a criminal. >> reporter: and the best advice, never click on any link even if the e-mail you got looks legit. go straight to the website instead and if you get an e-mail that looks like it's from the irs, just delete it. if there's ever an issue, that agency will always start the process with a letter in the mail. i'm andrea day for on the money. >> cyber criminals cash in nearly $2 million in fraudulent tax returns last year. i'm sure this is very worrisome for you given the amount of phone calls you're receiving so when it comes to tax time, how do people know if they've been the victim of a scam like this? >> you know w these scams, often people don't know until the irs rejects their return and they reject the return because

somebody else has already filed. >> and how do you prevent them from getting your refund? >> you know, they're going to do what they're going to do. you need to protect yourself as you would with any identity theft situation. make sure you're protecting your social security number, watching out for fishing e-mails, don't click on links, don't open attachments. if you're using a tax preparation software, for example, you may receive phishing e-mails related to that. >> why do you think these scams are so successful? we've been hearing the warnings for years about phishing e-mails and things like that. >> last year, 25% of all of the scams reported to our bbb scam tracker tool related to tax scams. and these go on all yearlong where people receive calls harassing them, pretending to be the irs, threatening them with arrest, this sort of thing. >> is there any group of people that's most vulnerable? >> surprisingly, many people believe it's the elderly, but what we see with these harassing calls is that young people are about four times more likely to

report having lost money to those scams. >> we just heard andrea day say, look, the irs is not going to e-mail you, they're not going to call you. they're going to send you a letter in the mail as a first step. could that change? >> you will still get a letter in the mail as a first step. in fact, you'll get several letters, but ultimately, things are changing. the irs is beginning to use private debt collectors starting this month and this is very new. we're concerned about the confusion it may create, particularly because people have been receiving these scam phone calls for so long, pretending to be the irs. >> and the message has been, just hang up, it's not the irs. >> right. now it could theoretically be one of these debt collectors but hold off assuming that's the case. it's highly unlikely that you would receive a call from a debt collector unless you have had ongoing debt for an extended period of time and the irs is contacted you numerous times but the big thing to remember is how are you making payment? if you are going to irs.gov to

make payment or you're writing a check or money order to the u.s. treasury, that's the right way to pay. >> if someone asks you for an itunes gift card, you're probably not paying the irs. >> that's a big red flag right there. and that's how scammers like to receive their payments. another one would be wire transfers. they love to use those to protect themselves so watch out for the method of payment. that should tip you off that it's a scam. >> emma fletcher, thank you so much for joining us from the better business bureau. more than 2 million people take to the skies every day in the united states and that number is expected to rise, translates into more jobs, of course. kate rogers is at love field in dallas where southwest airlines is hanging out the help wanted sign. >> reporter: with 20 years on the job at southwest as a ramp agent, sean parker says he's hoping for 20 more. >> i'm responsible for making sure the passengers' luggage gets transported to the proper destinations. i'm responsible for making sure the aircraft gets turned on time

and responsible for safety of me and the fellow crew around me. >> reporter: at southwest, long tenured amp agents can make around $30 an hour with the opportunity for overtime. the company currently employs some 19,000 ground workers and hyd hired only about 2.5% out of the applicants in 2016. >> we are picky. we hire for attitude and train for skill. >> reporter: the perks for ramp agents like sean parker include free travel for themselves and their families, 401(k) matches and profit sharing but the job is very physical. parker spends the majority of his time outdoors, rain or shine. >> you put 35-degree weather with rain and heavy loads and it can get very chaotic. >> reporter: sean loves having the ability to set his own schedule. in fact, he even worked as a police officer while working as a ramp agent for about ten years and the flexibility also allowed him and a few other southwest employees to put together a band

called the blue 22s and they would fly to l.a. for free, of course, on the weekends to play gigs. back to you. >> i think it's fascinating when people leave established careers or incorporate new careers into their existing ones but he mentioned how physical the job is. so when someone's transitioning, already well into adulthood, how long can you continue to do that? >> reporter: yeah, i mean, like we said in the story, he's been doing this already opinion 20 years and he's hoping to do it for 20 more. he started at age 19. he's almost 40 now. he told me he's in the gym, he takes care of himself and make sure he's staying in shape and physically healthy but maybe another 20 and whehe'll call it quits. i know sean is also training people now. it's definitely a tough job but has some good perks. >> thank you. appreciate that. up next, we are "on the money." selling your house, the best week, month, and even the day to list it to get the best price. and later, 100 years of

cookies, camping, and confidence, how the girl scouts are teaching those skills and more. and now a look at how the symptom mark stock market ended the week.

here's a look at what's making news as we head into a new week, "on the money." a disappointing jobs report for march. the economy created just 98,000 jobs last month, about half of what was expected. harsher winter weather may be to blame for slow hiring and retail and construction were weak. but the unemployment rate fell to 4.5%, the lowest since may of 2007. there are two different surveys for each number, which may help explain the disparity. that helped push stocks down a bit in early trading on friday after a topsy turvy week.

the nasdaq touched an all-time high during the week but didn't hold it. at the close on friday, stocks were lower. if you're looking to watch thursday night football online this year, you'll be heading to amazon. the company's won the rights to stream the games in the united states and is making a push to attract fans. twitter had the streaming lights last year. the games will be broadcast on tv by cbs and nbc. the spring housing market got off to a slow start in much of the nation as a late burst of winter combined with a stark shortage of homes for sell kept buyers at bay but now spring is in full swing, which is traditionally a strong time to sell so does the change in seasons mean a change in sentiment? diana olick has more. >> reporter: of course spring is the best time to sell a home, right? the warm air brings us outside and the blooming blossoms suggest change, the perfect time to make that move. or is it? >> i think any time of year is

okay as long as your expectations are correct. >> reporter: veteran real estate agent jane fairweather has weathered a lot of seasons in the housing market and notes that while more homes are listed in the spring, offering for choice for buyers, that also means more competition for sellers. she suggests a different strategy. >> if you're in the winter market, then you know that there's not much out. you're going to be one of two or three houses and you're going to get almost everyone in your price range will be looking at your house. >> reporter: she held an open house for agents a new listing that came on just as the d.c. area cherry blossoms finally came out. she expects it to sell in a week, not because it's spring but because she's playing the spring market right. >> so, in the spring, know that you have lots of competition. so, you better be in perfect condition and really well priced. because buyers have lots of options. >> reporter: if you're jumping into the spring competition, even the timing during the season can be critical, said one of the agents touring

fairweather's listing. >> i would get it early on the spring market. even better. because there are less homes on the market and more people. people just start going crazy. usually end of february, beginning of march. >> reporter: and location matters as well. some markets look like this in the spring, but others can still look like this. >> typically, the peak of the season is between now and about june or july, depending on the market, that could be sooner or later. warmer markets tend to start a little earlier, colder markets, as far as temperature, start to go a bit later. >> reporter: and there are as many opinions on timing as there are listings on the market. some even take it right down to the day. thursday is apparently the best time to list because that's when the most people are online looking at listings, getting ready to go out to open houses over the weekend f. you list on saturday, you're already too late. >> you showed us the different ways that spring looks in different parts of the country where, in some places, there's

still snow on the ground. what about the kind of house that you're sell something does that play at all into when's the best season to sell? >> reporter: absolutely. it's about size specifically because when you have a large house like this one, you want to list it in the spring. that's when families are out looking, because they want to move over the summer. they don't want to disrupt the school year so they're not going to be looking in the fall. if you have a smaller house, you want a single buyer or a couple without kids. you want to list that house in the fall. >> diana olick, thank you. up next, we're "on the money." girl scouts have sold cookies for 100 years. this year, 200 million boxes sold brings in $800 million. so where does all that money go? and later, professional drone racing. right. it's a thing. you're going to meet the man behind the fast-paced and fast-growing sport. so you're having a party?

i'm happy for the distraction. i'll be right there. and the butchery begins. what am i gonna wear? this party is super fancy. are you my uber? [ horn honks ] hold on.

[ upbeat music playing ] the biggest week in tv is back. [ doorbell rings ] who's that? show me watchathon. xfinity watchathon week now until april 9. get unlimited access to all of netflix and more, free with xfinity on demand. this is the 100th year girl scouts have been selling those cookies, but cookie sales are just one part of the lessons today's entrepreneurial girl scouts are learning. sylvia acevedo is the interim ceo of girl scouts of the usa and it's so great to have you with us today. we are fascinated by your story, because you were a girl scout yourself. how old were you when you started? >> i was 7 years old when i started. >> but you really credit that as being a pivotal moment for your future career success, why? >> that completely changed my life. for a couple things.

one is my troop leader saw my potential and she was somebody outside of my family, my adult, who helped me see the opportunities beyond what was available in my tight-knit family, latino family. she saw that i could be a scientist, and she encouraged me to earn my science badge. and then also selling cookies, that was fantastic too because it taught me that you could create your own opportunities. >> so, the cookies are the big story. everybody knows the girl scout cookies. what are the girls learning from it? >> this is the great thing. it really is a program to teach them the kind of life skills that they need to be an entrepreneur. it teaches them how to set goals, create budgets, you know, and then figure out what you're going -- how you're going to serve your customers, great customer service, and you know, the other great thing is all the money stays locally. the money doesn't come to national. so, that's what allows girls to have these amazing outdoor experiences, to have those outdoor camps or to have those

take action projects in their own community. >> research shows that americans are pitifully underprepared for financial transactions, their financial literacy is just not there. you're changing that by having these girls involved with financial transactions early on. >> absolutely. we have an $850 million business, but it all happens with girls, and they're learning how to make change, they're learning how to ask for the order. they're learning how to set budgets. they create projects, and then they have to figure out, how am i going to fund the project and that is all financial management. >> so when we're talking about great business skills, one little girl got a lot of viral traction this year when she wrote a very honest letter to her customers rating girl scout cookies, which of them were worth their money and which weren't. her sales exploded. >> we love the honesty, right? that's fantastic. and boy, what an entrepreneur. that's what we love. we know that our essence is what we call g.i.r.l., a go gter, an innovator, a risk taker, a leader. she was all of those things. we really love that kind of

innovative thinking. >> sylvia, girl scouts are seeing membership declining. what can you do to reverse that trend? >> we're really excited about things that we're doing. we are putting in a digital backbone so girl scouting can have -- we can have that technology so we can be where girls are on mobile device bus we're never going to get away from the face to face experience that girls want and love in girl scouting. what i'm really excited about is we're really starting to change those numbers. we're seeing our volunteer numbers turn around and they're positive. our daisy recruitment no longer declining but actually flat so we're really excited. our retention numbers are up so we're making sure that we give girls the programs that they need and want. >> and we know how important that is as grown women to have a caring adult sponsor you from a young age and tell you, you can do anything that your mind can conceive. thank you so much for sharing the girl scout story with us. up next, "on the money," a look at the news for the week

ahead. and the new pro sport that might look like a video game, but watch closely here. it's not. catch them if you can.

here are the stories coming out that may have an impact on your money this week. monday is report card day for the major airlines with the release of the national airline quality ratings. tuesday we'll see how optimistic small business owners are when

the national federation of independent business releases its monthly survey. and show your pet how much you love them. do we really need this? i mean, isn't every day national pet day? on friday, we get a read on the strength of the consumer with the retail sales figures from march. and the markets are closed for the observance of good friday. here's a sport you've probably never heard of, professional drone racing, and it is growing just as fast as those drones fly. joining me now is nicholas. give me a sense, drones racing. how does it work? >> yeah, so it's just like formula 1 but in the air so we take very high speed quad copter drones, bring in the best pilots in the world and race them around three dimensional courses. >> the three dimensional part is interesting because every race course is three dimensional but

you're using elevation, not just linear surfaces. >> the drones can fly in every dimension so we have high gates, low gates, huge climbs, big dives, and it creates a totally different kind of racing. >> and the drones have cameras on them so you're getting a pilot's eye view, essentially, of the drone race. >> absolutely. so the drones have a camera on the front of it and that feeds a video to the pair of goggles so it's like they're sitting in the cockpit of the drone. >> give me a sense of why you thought of this. why did you think the world needed a professional drone casti racing league? it's been around for about five years as an amateur sport. >> we thought it was time to bring it to the mainstream. we built the drone racing league to introduce the whole world to this cool technology-enabled sport. >> you build the drones? >> we build all the technology related to the league. we design and build our drones in the ground up, design everything from the circuit boards inside of it to the carbon fiber frame and that

allows us to give every pilot an identical drone so that levels the playing field. by all of them racing the same drone, when you see someone win, you know it's the pilot is not the drone. >> when people are watching it now, you've paired up with major television networks for this. why not just stream it all online? >> well, you know, we want to build the next major sport and so being with networks liespn i the united states and sky sports in the uk, it gives the sport a lot of credibility. and it also gives us a huge audience. there's no one in the sports world that has the reach of those networks. >> where does drone racing stand in terms of getting younger interest? >> that's one of the fun things about drone racing is it attracts a young audience. our audience is predominantly 18 to 35-year-olds. >> and there's an app for fans as well that they can get on and get the experience of being a drone pilot. >> we built a highly realistic video game simulator of it so it's free on our website, you can download it.

it teaches you how to fly a racing drone and we use it for tryouts so we paired up with bud light last year and we did a tryout where people could try out through the video game and the winner of that got a $75,000 a year contract and is now flying in the league so he went from a gamer to a pro fleathletn a few weeks. >> good luck to you, nicholas. that's the show for today. thank you so much for joining us. next week, avoiding an audit, what the irs looks for in your taxes that could be a trigger. each week, keep it right here. we are "on the money." have a great one. i hope you have a high-flying weekend.

life at the nasdaq market and for the first time in weeks, the gang's finally back together. while the guys are getting ready, here's what's coming up on the show. >> it's a bird, it's a plane. >> no, it's just shares of amazon but if you missed the move, relax. we have a way to buy it for just 20 bucks. plus, talk about a bank job. >> this is a robbery. >> after a run, financials have underperformed the market this year and there could be even more pain next week. we'll tell you how to profit. and, chip stocks are