Whether you have filed your taxes or not, you still must keep an eye out for tax scams. Scammers will try to intimidate you into sending them money or giving up personal information by impersonating the IRS. The IRS does not contact taxpayers via email, text messages, or social media channels to get personal information. If you receive messages through these channels from the IRS, it is a tax scam.    

Fraudulent Phone Calls

During the tax season, criminals look to steal your information by posing as IRS agents over the phone. The calls are aggressive and demand payment through prepaid debit cards, gift cards, or even wire transfers. These tax scams request payment through methods that are similar to a cash transaction where you will be unable to get the money back after it is sent.

The scammer will try to intimidate you into sending them money by claiming that they will get arrested by a certain time if they do not send the money. Another red flag is that the caller will always add a sense of urgency to paying them, so you don’t have time to think through the conversation. If you receive a call like this, record the number and report it to the IRS Impersonation Scam Reporting form.      

Malicious Emails

The IRS will never start a conversation with you over email so if you receive an email from them, it is safe to say that it is a scam. The scammers use these emails to intimidate you into sharing your personal information. One email tax scam is where an email comes in from the IRS Criminal Investigation Division saying that you are being investigated for a false tax return. The goal is to intimidate you into clicking on the link in the email that will allow the scammer to remote into your computer and steal your information.

A sign that an email may be malicious is having a subject line that says, “URGENT” or “ATTENTION.” These words are meant to intimidate you and make you feel like you must handle the problem immediately before it gets worse. Also, all the messaging is pushing you towards clicking on the link in the email to share your personal information. Do not click on any links or open any attachments on these types of emails. Forward the email to [email protected] to report it.        

Impersonated Websites

Scammers have been creating entire websites that mimic legitimate sources to steal personal information. These websites vary from false security alerts to giveaways. Scammers share the false websites through different channels like email and social media. Once on the website, you will be encouraged to provide personal information or take action that will open your computer up to malicious software. Fake IRS websites have been seen trying to intimidate taxpayers into providing personal information on the fake site.

Before putting any information into a website, make sure to review emotional language, poor design quality, and odd grammar. All of these are signs that the website is fake. If you think you are on a fake site, make sure to report it to [email protected].

Tax scams come through these different channels, and you must take the time to think before you click. Scammers try to play on your emotions so you can’t think critically. Now that you are aware of some of the scams you may see so you can better protect yourself. Do not share your private information before checking the signs of whether it is a scam or not. Keep up to date on different scams by heading to our Stay Secure page.

Source: IRS.gov