The IRS has issued an “extra caution” warning about multiple scams involving tax refunds and pandemic-related payment schemes that are seeking to defraud taxpayers and illegally obtain sensitive information.
“The Internal Revenue Service warned taxpayers today to be on the lookout for a summer surge of tax scams as identity thieves continue pounding out a barrage of email and text messages promising tax refunds or offers to help ‘fix’ tax problems,” said the agency in a July 21 press release. The latest set of scams touches on multiple topics like Economic Impact Payments, tax refunds, and potential IRS bans.
“These scams are riddled with spelling errors and awkward phrasing, but they consistently try to entice people to click on a link,” said the agency.
IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel said that the IRS is now “seeing a wave of these summer scams relentlessly pounding taxpayers.”
Economic Impact Payment Scheme Scam
The IRS highlighted five main scams targeting taxpayers, out of which the Economic Impact Payment scheme scam is the “highest volume email scheme the IRS is seeing.”In this scam, emails are sent to taxpayers making claims they are eligible for a third round of Economic Impact Payments—a scheme instituted during the COVID-19 crisis to provide relief for American citizens.
However, the third round of these payments already happened back in 2021. But even as payments have ceased, the scams related to it have evolved, warned the agency.
The IRS is seeing hundreds of taxpayers forwarding emails related to this scam each day, with thousands of such emails reported since the July 4 holiday. The emails routinely have spelling errors and factual inaccuracies.
The emails urge people to click on links to complete their applications in order to receive benefits. However, the link takes the user to a webpage where hackers attempt to obtain valuable personal information.
A sample of the scam mail as provided by the IRS:
Employee Retention Credit Scam
A second scam is the misleading “you may be eligible for the ERC” scheme. The Employee Retention Credit (ERC) is a pandemic-related credit available to employers.“Scam promoters are luring people to improperly claim the ERC with ‘offers’ online, in social media, on the radio, or through unsolicited phone calls, emails and even mailings that look like official government letters but have fake agency names and usually urge immediate action,” said the press release.
“It’s important to watch for warning signs such as promoters who say they can quickly determine someone’s eligibility without details, and those who charge up-front fees or a fee based on a percentage of the ERC claimed.”
SMS Scams
The “claim your tax refund online” scheme urges people to click on links to get their refunds.A sample of such a scam message:
“We checked an error in the calculation of your tax from the last payment, amounting to $ 927,22. In order for us to return the excess payment, you need to create a E-Refund, after which the funds will be credited to your specified bank. Please click below to claim your tax refund. If we are unable to complete within 3 days, all pending will be cancelled.”
The “help you fix-it” scheme is a text scam that attempts to convince the target that there is a problem with their tax return and encourages them to click a link to resolve the problem. In the messages, the criminals use names that sound official, like “govirs-accnnt2023.” Like other scams, there tends to be misspelling and factual inaccuracies.
A sample of such a scam: “MSG … IRS: You federal return was ban-by the IRS. Don’t worry, we'll help you fix it. Click this link.”
Scammers are also using traditional mail to defraud taxpayers. Dubbed the “delivery service” scam, it involves “a mailing that arrives in a cardboard envelope from a delivery service. The enclosed letter includes the IRS masthead and wording that the notice is ‘in relation to your unclaimed refund.’”
The IRS encouraged people who have been exposed to such scams to send an email to [email protected]. Those who are victims of such schemes and have clicked links and submitted personal information can file a complaint with the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration.
Widespread Identity Theft
Identity theft of taxpayers is a major issue at the IRS. Criminals usually use the stolen information about a taxpayer to file returns and claim tax refunds.“With people anxious to receive the latest information about a refund or other tax issue, scammers will regularly pose as the IRS, a state tax agency, or others in the tax industry in emails and texts,” he said.
“People should be incredibly wary about unexpected messages like this that can be a trap, especially during filing season.”