Be Alert to Tax Season Cyber Scams

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has reported a surge of scams including phishing emails and vishing (voice phishing) calls.

Examples include:

• Fake emails purporting to be from the IRS or others in the tax industry, including software companies that seek information related to refunds, filing status, confirming personal information, and verifying personal identification numbers. Variation of the scams also come through text messages.
• Phone calls by criminals impersonating IRS agents and threatening you with police arrest, deportation, license revocation, and other penalties if you don't pay a bogus tax bill.

The IRS does not initiate contact with taxpayers by email, text messages, or social media channels to request personal or financial information. This includes requests for personal identification numbers, passwords, or similar access information for credit cards, banks, or other financial accounts. The IRS will never call to demand an immediate payment or threaten to involve law enforcement.

If you receive an unsolicited communication from the IRS — do not act on it. Suspected phishing emails should be forwarded directly to the IRS at phishing@irs.gov and then deleted. For instructions about how to report phishing calls and other IRS scams, visit the Reporting Phishing and Online Scams page on the IRS website.

Scams occur all year round, remain alert and as a reminder:

• DO NOT reply to an email with any personal information or passwords; call the organization directly to verify that the email is legitimate
• DO NOT click a link in an unsolicited email; type the organization’s web address into your web browser to verify legitimacy.

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