There are many Americans who are yet to receive a tax refund, social security benefits. If that wasn’t enough, now scammers have come into the picture as they are targeting the recipient of such benefits.
Back in June and July, IRS received a record number of complaints beating the number of past complaints.
Even though most of the complaints were related to Economic Impact Payments, its number reached the max. in these two months.
After the sudden increase in IRS related scams, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the IRS-CI Washington DC Field Office Darrell J. Waldon said, “With the uptick in scams that we have seen, please remain vigilant in protecting your personal information,”
In the majority of cases reported, phishing scam has come out to be the main cause where scammer contacts you as a legitimate source and try to convince you in sharing your details or making an online payment.
Here’s how everything usually plays out:
- A scammer sends a text message to you (Target) saying you’re eligible to receive the stimulus payment.
- They will share a link with you. Click on the link to claim it or email the complete claim details to find whether the victim is eligible to receive Economic Impact Payment.
But the thing is IRS never sends unsolicited emails or texts. So, just like IRS, I urge you to not take this lightly and as the first line of defense for your security – Ignore or report them to the officials.
Recommended Read: IRS Sending Refunds: Check Your Bank Account NOW
What to Avoid Online?
Here’s a list of things you should always avoid online:
- Don’t open shortened links as such links can take you to scammy websites & further exploit you.
- Any IRS email or SMS asking for your personal information is an attempt to steal your details. So, when you receive such messages, forward them to phishing@irs.gov.
- Never engage in a call conversation with IRS scammers. After reading this post, if you think you’ve been the victim of an IRS scam, here are these options open for you to take the right action.
That’s all for now.
Have you ever come across IRS-related scams online?
