IRS Unveils “Dirty Dozen” List of Tax Scams for 2020; Americans urged vigilance for these threats during the pandemic and its aftermath

Phishing

Taxpayers should be on the lookout for possible fake emails or websites seeking to steal personal information. The IRS will never initiate contact with taxpayers via email regarding a tax bill, refund, or economic impact payments. Don’t click on links that claim to be from the IRS. Beware of emails and websites, which can be nothing more than scams to steal personal information.

IRS Criminal Investigation has seen a tremendous increase in phishing schemes using emails, letters, texts, and links. These phishing schemes are using keywords like “coronavirus” (COVID-19) and “Stimulus” in various ways.

These schemes target large numbers of people to obtain personally identifiable information or financial account information, including account numbers and passwords. Most of these new schemes are actively playing on the fear and unknowns of the virus and stimulus payments. (For more information see IR-2020-115, IRS cautions against COVID-19 fraud; other financial schemes.)