SCAMMERS have found new and inventive ways to steal money throughout the pandemic — including targeting stimulus check payments.
Cybercriminals have taken advantage of unsuspecting Americans who received the three rounds of stimulus checks by hacking into their payments and siphoning the money for themselves
As tax returns hit millions of bank accounts during this year’s tax season, scammers are impersonating the Internal Revenue Service in text messages and calls.
“Thousands of people have lost millions of dollars and their personal information to tax scams,” the agency warned on their website.
“Scammers use the regular mail, telephone, or email to set up individuals, businesses, payroll and tax professionals.”
To be clear, the IRS does not contact people over email, text messages, or through social media.
Fraudulent texts normally include a link that taxpayers, if clicking, could give up personal information that could jeopardize their stimulus payments.
Taxpayers should also be watching out for incoming calls where scammers impersonate IRS agents and aggressively demand that the recipient pay a fake missing payment.
Email phishing campaigns are also sending out messages regarding stimulus payments to taxpayers in another attempt to convince recipients that they owe money to the fake agency and must act now.
“Fighting back against phishing scams requires constant vigilance, and we urge tax…
