Tax scams/Consumer alerts
Millions of dollars and vital personal details have been stolen from countless individuals through tax scams. Scammers commonly exploit email, phone calls, and traditional mail to target individuals, businesses, and professionals handling payroll and taxes.
It’s important to remember that the IRS never reaches out to taxpayers via text messages, social media, or emails to ask for personal or financial information. Recognize the red flags of a scam to distinguish genuine IRS communication from fraudulent attempts.
Scams Targeting Taxpayers
The IRS warns taxpayers to be on the lookout for a new scam mailing that tries to mislead people into believing they are owed a refund.
The new scheme involves a mailing coming in a cardboard envelope from a delivery service. The enclosed letter includes the IRS masthead with contact information and a phone number that do not belong to the IRS and wording that the notice is “in relation to your unclaimed refund.”
The IRS reminded businesses and tax-exempt groups to watch out for telltale signs of misleading claims about the Employee Retention Credit (ERC), sometimes called the Employee Retention Tax Credit or ERTC. The IRS and tax professionals continue to see aggressive broadcast advertising, direct mail solicitations and online promotions involving the ERC. While the credit is real, aggressive promoters are misrepresenting and exaggerating who can qualify for the credit.
The IRS has issued many warnings about ERC schemes from third party promoters that charge large upfront fees or a fee based on the amount of the refund. And the promoters may not tell taxpayers that wage deductions claimed on the business’ federal income tax return must be reduced by the amount of the credit.
Businesses, tax-exempt organizations and others thinking about applying for the ERC need to carefully review the official requirements for this credit before they claim it.
The IRS warns taxpayers of new scams that urge people to use wage information on a tax return to claim false credits in hopes of getting a big refund.
In a continuing twist on a common scam, the IRS, state tax agencies and tax industry warn tax professionals to beware of evolving phishing scams that use various pandemic-related themes to steal client data.
The Internal Revenue Service warns taxpayers to be wary of criminals soliciting donations and falsely posing as legitimate charities. When fake charities scam unsuspecting donors, the proceeds don’t go to those who need the help and those contributing to these fake charities can’t deduct their donations on their tax return.
The IRS reminds taxpayers to beware of promoters claiming their services are needed to settle with the IRS, that their debts can be settled for “pennies-on-the-dollar” or that there is a limited window of time to resolve tax debts through the Offer in Compromise (OIC) program. These promoters are often referred to as “OIC Mills.” Find information on OIC Mills in the news release IRS “Dirty Dozen” list warns people to watch out for Offer in Compromise ‘mills’ where promoters claim their services are needed to settle IRS debts.
The Internal Revenue Service warned of an ongoing IRS-impersonation scam that appears to primarily target educational institutions, including students and staff who have “.edu” email addresses.
The IRS urges taxpayers to be on the lookout for criminals seeking to steal their identities to file fraudulent claims for unemployment compensation.
Because unemployment benefits are taxable income, states issue Forms 1099-G, Certain Government Payments, to recipients and to the IRS to report the amount of taxable compensation received and any withholding. Box 1 on the form shows “Unemployment Compensation.”
Taxpayers who received a Form 1099-G for 2020 unemployment compensation that they did not receive should take the steps outlined at Identity Theft and Unemployment Benefits.
The IRS reminds taxpayers that criminals and scammers try to take advantage of the generosity of taxpayers who want to help victims of major disasters.
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The IRS warns taxpayers to avoid unethical tax return preparers, known as ghost preparers. A ghost preparer is someone who doesn’t sign tax returns they prepare. Not signing a return is a red flag that the paid preparer may be looking to make a quick profit by promising a big refund or charging fees based on the size of the refund.
A sophisticated phone scam targeting taxpayers, including recent immigrants, has been making the rounds throughout the country. Callers make aggressive calls posing as IRS agents, using fake names and bogus IRS identification badge numbers in hopes of stealing taxpayer money or personal information. They may know a lot about their targets, and they usually alter the caller ID to make it look like the IRS is calling.
Victims are told they owe money to the IRS and it must be paid promptly through a gift card or wire transfer. Victims may be threatened with arrest, deportation or suspension of a business or driver’s license. In many cases, the caller becomes hostile and insulting. Victims may be told they have a refund due to try to trick them into sharing private information. If the phone isn’t answered, the scammers often leave an “urgent” callback request.
Some thieves have used video relay services (VRS) to try to scam deaf and hard of hearing individuals. Taxpayers are urged not trust calls just because they are made through VRS, as interpreters don’t screen calls for validity.
Limited English Proficiency victims are often approached in their native language, threatened with deportation, police arrest and license revocation, among other things. IRS urges all taxpayers caution before paying unexpected tax bills.
Note that the IRS doesn’t:
- Call to demand immediate payment using a specific payment method such as a prepaid debit card, gift card or wire transfer. Generally, the IRS will first mail you a bill if you owe any taxes.
- Threaten to bring in local police or other law-enforcement groups to have you arrested for not paying.
- Demand payment without giving you the opportunity to question or appeal the amount they say you owe.
- Ask for credit or debit card numbers over the phone.
Phishing is a scam where fraudsters send e-mail messages to trick unsuspecting victims into revealing personal and financial information that can be used to steal the victims’ identity.
The IRS has issued several alerts about the fraudulent use of the IRS name or logo by scammers trying to gain access to consumers’ financial information to steal their identity and assets.
Scam emails are designed to trick taxpayers into thinking these are official communications from the IRS or others in the tax industry, including tax software companies. These phishing schemes may seek information related to refunds, filing status, confirming personal information, ordering transcripts and verifying PIN information.
Be alert to bogus emails that appear to come from your tax professional, requesting information for an IRS form. IRS doesn’t require Life Insurance and Annuity updates from taxpayers or a tax professional.
Variations can be seen via text messages. The IRS is aware of email phishing scams that include links to bogus web sites intended to mirror the official IRS website. These emails contain the direction “you are to update your IRS e-file immediately.” These emails are not from the IRS.
The sites may ask for information used to file false tax returns or they may carry malware, which can infect computers and allow criminals to access your files or track your keystrokes to gain information.
Unsolicited email claiming to be from the IRS, or from a related component such as EFTPS, should be reported to the IRS at phishing@irs.gov.
