From financial forms filling your mailbox to emails from providers like Turbo Tax urging you to file already, you’ve likely already been inundated with messages this tax season. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) started allowing returns to be filed weeks earlier than normal this year on Jan. 24 in an attempt to help taxpayers battle what is expected to be an especially frustrating tax season. But while you should pay attention to all the tax-related mail in your inbox, not every message from the IRS is what it seems. The agency just posted a new alert for taxpayers, warning them about specific scams attempting to target taxpayers through fake IRS communication. Read on to find out what message you should be keeping an eye out for this year.
RELATED: The IRS Is Now Warning You to Do This Before Filing Your Taxes.
In a Feb. 3 alert to taxpayers, the IRS warned that text message scams involving the agency have gotten more popular recently. “Last year, there was an uptick in text messages that impersonated the IRS. These scams are sent to taxpayers’ smartphones and have referenced COVID-19 and/or ‘stimulus payments,'” the agency explained.
According to the IRS, these messages will often contain fraudulent links or attachments that appear to take recipients to IRS-based websites or online tools. But these sites are not associated with the agency and will likely work to obtain private information from…
