Fraudsters are rolling out a glut of legitimate-looking but fake text messages, emails and social media posts this tax season, according to the Internal Revenue Service.
And many look like they’re coming from the IRS when they are not.
“The IRS won’t use social media to contact you,” said Luis D. Garcia, an IRS spokesman in Detroit.
So if you receive a direct message via Twitter from someone claiming to be an IRS representative, don’t fall for it.
If somehow you’ve clicked on a link or gone online, make sure you’re dealing with the correct web site for the IRS at www.irs.gov as well.
“There are imitators that pop up,” Garcia warned.
Crooks once again want to steal your personal information, including sensitive tax and financial data.
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“Taxpayers should be on constant guard for these phishing schemes, which can be tricky and cleverly disguised to look like it’s the IRS,” said IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig in a statement.
As part of the IRS annual warning of a “Dirty Dozen” tax scams, Rettig warned consumers that phishing schemes remain a threat.
One creative scheme: Crooks are using a taxpayer’s real bank account to direct deposit refunds. The crime ring will file fake tax returns using stolen ID information to generate over-sized refunds.
To make returns seem more legitimate, the fraudsters are attempting to directly deposit refunds…
