IRS warns: Scammers after personal information

TAMPA — As if there wasn’t enough to worry about, the IRS is reporting the number of complaints about Economic Impact Payment scams skyrocketed in June and July to levels not seen in more than a decade.

Scammers, according to a release from the IRS, aim to trick businesses and individuals into sharing personal information or sending payments. What's most worrisome is that, often, the messages mirror legitimate IRS emails.

An IRS spokesperson working in the Tampa office of the IRS' criminal investigation unit says in an email that the statistics aren't available yet.

"But, I can tell you that the volume of phishing complaints and the number of phishing sites reported to the IRS via the [email protected] email is the worst in 10 years and is very alarming," the spokesperson writes. 

"This increase is due to new tactics and platforms not readily used 10 years ago like social media in combination with the IRS giving out multiple economic impact payments." 

The best protection against being scammed is awareness, the agency says, and the easiest way to do that is being aware of how the IRS communicates with taxpayers and knowing that the it doesn’t threaten individuals with jail or lawsuits and it doesn’t demand payment on gift cards or by cryptocurrency.

And if a message does come in that seems authentic, keep an eye out for grammatical, spelling and capitalization errors in emails and texts as well watch out for shortened URLs.

 Recent scam that have been reported include: 

• Text messages stating that a taxpayer is eligible for a “stimulus payment” and they must click on a link to complete the necessary information to claim it. 
• Phishing emails claiming the IRS has calculated a taxpayer’s “fiscal activity” and they are eligible for an Economic Impact payment in a specific amount. 

Bryan Payne, special agent for IRS Criminal Investigation’s Tampa Field Office, says in a statement that the “best way to avoid being scammed is to know that the IRS will never send unsolicited texts or emails.”

“Cybercriminals are piranhas—and they are phishing American citizens while taking advantage of the pandemic,” he says.

The IRS advises individuals and businesses that receive a message via social media, email or text looking for personal or company information to forward it to [email protected]. The agency also encourages people not to engage a suspected scammer.

 “We will continue to be relentless in thwarting COVID-19 related fraud and bringing criminals to justice.” Payne says.