Page Last Reviewed or Updated: December 20, 2023

Thousands of people have lost millions of dollars and their personal information to tax scams. Scammers use regular mail, telephone, and email to set up individuals, businesses, payroll and tax professionals.

The IRS does not initiate contact with taxpayers by email, text messages or social media channels to request personal or financial information. Know the telltale signs of a scam and how to know if it’s really the IRS.

Scams

Learn to recognize and avoid scams. Be on the lookout for scams. Thieves use phishing emails, threatening phone calls, fax, and texts to pose as IRS employees or other legitimate government or law enforcement agencies. If someone calls asking for personal information, do not give out such details. Scam artists remain hard at work with new variations of scams.

Keep in mind that the IRS will never demand immediate payment, threaten, ask for financial information over the phone, or call about an unexpected refund or Economic Impact Payment. If you are worried about a tax problem or are in doubt, call our office before you make payment or provide information to a third party.

The IRS updates a website list which details a variety of common scams that taxpayers may encounter anytime. Many of these schemes peak during tax filing season. Please follow the link below for a summary of these concerning fraud tactics.

https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/tax-scamsconsumer-alerts

Scams targeting taxpayers (recent)

New scam mailing related to unclaimed refunds                           

Filing season scams involving fake Form W-2 wages

Charity fraud awareness

Beware of OIC mills – avoid costly promoters advertising settlement with the IRS for “pennies-on-the-dollar”

Scam targets educational institutions, including students and staff

Identity theft and unemployment benefits

Scams related to natural disasters

IRS impersonation telephone scams              

Security Awareness

Whether you are online for work, school, shopping or browsing, online security is more important than ever during this time.  Everyone needs to be mindful of risks they may encounter when they share devices, shop online and/or interact on social media.

Security is important. Do not reveal too much information about yourself. Keep data secure by only providing what is necessary. For example, birthdays, addresses, age and especially Social Security numbers should not be shared freely.

Use software with firewall and anti-virus protections. Make sure your security software is always turned on and can automatically update. Make sure all family members have comprehensive anti-virus protection for their devices, particularly on shared devices.

Use strong, unique passwords for each account and encrypt sensitive files such as tax records, school transcripts and college applications.

Protect your personal data. Adults should advise younger users to shop at reputable online retailers.

Know the risk of public Wi-Fi. Connection to public Wi-Fi is convenient and often free, but it may not be safe. Hackers and cybercriminals can easily steal personal information from these networks. Always use a virtual private network when connecting to public Wi-Fi.

Email Spoofing

Email spoofing is one of the most common forms of cybercriminal activity. Email spoofing is the forgery of an email sender address so that the message appears to have come from someone other than the actual source. Spammers will often spoof emails in order to encourage recipients to open, reply to, or even act in response to their solicitations. While it is not possible to prevent cybercriminals from spoofing email addresses, as they continuously find new ways to trick their targets, you can take the following proactive actions:

• Remember to never click on links or download attachments from unknown or suspicious emails.
• Always make sure you recognize the sender before opening the email.
• Be alert to emails that use bank names and government organizations that lure you into opening attachments. Be alert to emails from FedEx, UPS, PayPal, and Amazon.
• Never open any attachments if the sender is unknown. Always verify.
• Never open emails with multiple misspellings.
• Any attachment with a .zip or .exe extension should be avoided.
• Billing issues are usually not sent by email. Always verify before opening.
• Never open emails that include the message “Your computer is affected”.
• Never open emails that include the message “You sent us an infected email”.
• Avoid opening emails with the message “IRS notification”. IRS never sends notifications by e-mail.
• Do not open emails that ask you to “Verify your account”.