Suspicious communications in all its forms designed to either trick, surprise or scare someone into responding before thinking is No. 7 on the 2022 Dirty Dozen scams warning list, the Internal Revenue Service announced recently, warning everyone to be on the lookout for bogus calls, texts, emails and posts online to gain trust or steal.
Criminals have used these methods for years and they persist because these tricks work enough times to keep the scammers at it. Victims are tricked into providing sensitive personal financial information, money or other information. This can be used to file false tax returns and tap into financial accounts, among other schemes.
“If you are surprised or scared by a call or text, it’s likely a scam so proceed with extreme caution,” said IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig. “I urge everyone to verify a suspicious email or other communication independently of the message in question.”
Here are some common scams the IRS continues to see.
Text message scams: These scams are sent to taxpayers’ smartphones and can reference things like COVID-19 or “stimulus payments.” These messages often contain bogus links claiming to be IRS websites or other online tools. Other than IRS Secure Access, the IRS does not use text messages to discuss personal tax issues, such as those involving bills or refunds. The IRS also will not send taxpayers messages via social media platforms.
If a taxpayer receives an unsolicited SMS/text that appears to be from…
