IRS Issues Warning about Tax Scams

Last updated on March 19, 2022

Every year millions of taxpayers fall victim to tax scams. In cases of identity theft, taxpayers usually find out about fraudulent tax returns filed on their behalf only after the IRS rejects their tax return. The IRS is struggling to deal with millions of false tax returns every year. The IRS tries to inform the public about these scams so taxpayers can help curb false tax return filing.

IRS’ spokesperson Jennifer Jenkins said that scammers try to dupe people by sending them unsolicited emails or messages through social networking sites pretending to be from the IRS. Emails, text messages and phone calls are also used to gain access to confidential tax information of taxpayers.

“We don’t email taxpayers about their accounts,” Jenkins said. “We don’t use social media at Twitter and so forth to get information out to taxpayers about money that they may owe or money that they may be owed. If it’s electronic communication, that’s a clear red flag it’s not the IRS.”

The IRS has been issuing information on their website about the various methods tax scammers use to extract sensitive information, such as pretending to be the IRS through fake websites like the IRS’ Where’s My Refund? website.

During tax season, it is a priority to keep all sensitive information, including social security numbers, and filing status protected.