Sneaky Six: IRS Scams Taxpayers Should Watch Out For

Posted on March 18, 2025 by Business Development Rep Samantha

IRS scammers have been around for a long time and they’re sticking around because, unfortunately – people keep falling for their changing tactics. Knowing this, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) annually publishes a list of tax scams coined the Dirty Dozen, in an effort to increase awareness. Here are some of the most common scams that taxpayers should watch out for year-round, but especially during tax time.

1. Someone Using Your Social Security Number to File Taxes

A scammer might attempt to beat you to the chase – that is, beat you to claiming your own tax refund. This tax scam occurs when a fraudster uses your social security number to file and claim a tax refund. Oftentimes, the first inkling that you’re a victim is if the IRS rejects your tax return once you file. There are various reasons your tax return can be rejected, but it’s a surefire sign of identity theft if the IRS has another tax return filed in your name or a record of income from an employer you don’t work for.

There are resources available to you if someone has stolen your identity and filed a tax return with the IRS. First, you should report the identity theft to IdentityTheft.gov. This government website will aid you in creating various documents, such as an IRS Identity Theft Affidavit and personal recovery plan. You should then submit your Identity Theft Affidavit to the IRS – which notifies them of your case to begin investigating it. Alternatively, you can obtain the Identity Theft Affidavit directly from the IRS and submit it by mail. Lastly, follow the steps in your personal recovery plan to help mitigate the fallout and limit the personal and monetary damages of identity theft.

2. Ghost Tax Preparers that Disappear with Your Cash

While many tax preparers act with professionalism and integrity, tax season gives rise to unscrupulous tax preparers called “ghost preparers” who misguide taxpayers in an effort to make a quick buck or disappear with their refunds. These preparers take advantage of tax credits or deductions the taxpayer doesn’t qualify for, or invent fake sources of income to entice them with fake large refunds. They falsify tax returns in an effort to maximize the amount of the refund because they often charge a “percentage fee” based on the amount of the return. The ghost preparer typically refuses to sign the return after it is prepared, allowing them to disappear with their payment and leave you to deal with the consequences of falsifying a tax return. It is best practice to avoid any tax preparer who charges a cash only fee, does not give you a receipt, or who charges a percentage of your refund as their preparer fee. In addition, one who tries to invent false income or get tax credits and deductions you aren’t qualified for, or who deposits your refund into their own account – will typically “ghost” you.

3. Email and Text Scams

Many scams impersonating legitimate organizations begin with unsolicited emails and text messages, and IRS scams are no exception. The IRS will never demand immediate payment of a tax bill and threaten consequences for not doing so via email or text message. Similarly, the IRS will never notify you of a large tax refund via email or text message. These emails and text messages may also prompt you to click links that would download malicious software on your device or steal your personal and financial information. In the event the IRS needs to contact you, communication is typically initiated through regular U.S. mail. There are exceptions to this, as well as other ways the IRS may contact you – which can be found on the IRS webpage how to know it’s the IRS.

4. Bad Social Media Advice

In an effort to increase views and generate income, some social media influencers have been known to share bad tax advice using clickbait – or content that is designed to attract attention and entice users to click. It is hard to ignore content with headlines such as “find out how this little-known tax deduction can increase your tax refund.” Additionally, some influencers will have you pay to subscribe to gain access their exclusive “tax advice” on various platforms, but they are essentially just taking your money and sending you on your merry way – with incorrect tax advice. If you interact with this content and follow their bad advice, not only will you file a fraudulent tax return – but you also encourage these influencers to continue producing misleading content.

5. Fake Tax Bill

If you receive an urgent request to pay a tax bill with gift cards, cryptocurrency, or any other unusual yet specific method of payment – it’s a fake tax bill scam. The IRS will never call to demand immediate payment or make threats if you cannot render payment. As mentioned previously, the IRS will only contact you via regular U.S. mail.

6. IRS Individual Online Account Help Scam

An individual online account through the IRS provides taxpayers with a portal to access their tax information, such as payment history and tax records. Scammers are now posing as third parties to assist with setting up these online accounts to steal taxpayers’ personal information, submit fraudulent tax returns, and take their tax refunds. The scammer may also sell the personal and financial information to other fraudsters who may file fake tax returns and steal refunds, open loans and credit accounts in the taxpayer’s name, and ultimately steal their identity. The IRS has a guide to establishing an IRS online account and avoiding scams.

First Financial knows that tax season can be hard enough, and that’s without the worry of being scammed being added into the mix. If you have any questions or reason to suspect that your information has fallen into the hands of a scammer this tax season, don’t hesitate to contact us at 732.312.1500 or visit us at your local branch.

4 Ways to Identify a Tax Scam

Posted on March 15, 2019 by VP of Marketing and Business Development Jessica

Tax filing season is of course a busy time of year. It’s also a busy time of year for scammers. According to a recent Federal Trade Commission report, of the $1.48 billion total reported fraud, consumers lost nearly $488 million to imposter scams in 2018. Fraud schemes range from debt collector calls or emails claiming you haven’t paid your taxes, to someone posing as an official from the IRS or local law enforcement agency threatening arrest, suspension of your driver’s license or some other penalty if you don’t immediately wire funds to pay your taxes. The scams have become increasingly sophisticated and hard to detect.

Here is what you need to know about the IRS and tax scams:

The first contact from the IRS is through regular mail delivered by the United States Postal Service. The IRS does not initiate contact with taxpayers by email, text message or social media channels. Even if they call you to set up appointments or discuss an audit, you would first receive notification by mail. Only after mailing an official notification of an audit can an auditor/tax examiner follow up by phone. Forward any suspicious emails to the IRS at phishing@irs.gov. Alleged IRS or tax debt collection calls should be reported to (800) 366-4484.

Payments to the IRS are only payable to the United State Treasury. They do not accept payment in the form of prepaid debit cards, gift cards, or wire transfers.

IRS agents will NEVER demand that you pay taxes without giving you the opportunity to question or dispute the amount they say you owe. They must advise you of your rights as a taxpayer. They CANNOT threaten to bring in local police, immigration officers or other law enforcement agencies to have you arrested for not paying your taxes. The IRS also has zero authority to revoke your driver’s license, business license, or immigration status.

If an IRS representative calls or comes to a home or business unannounced to collect a tax debt or as part of an investigation, they will always provide two forms of official credentials: a pocket commission and an HSPD-12 card. You have a right to see the credentials and can call the IRS to verify the identity/information on the representative’s HSPD-12 card.

The moral of the story: be aware, do your research, and don’t become a victim of a tax scam this tax filing season!

Article Source: Myriam DiGiovanni for Financialfeed.com

Let the Taxpayer Beware: Learn to Spot 6 Common Tax Scams

Posted on March 12, 2019 by VP of Marketing and Business Development Jessica

Now that your W2s and miscellaneous tax documents have arrived, tax season is officially in full swing. While it’s easy to get lost in optimistic daydreams about your tax refund and all you’re planning to do with it, it’s important to remember that scam artists are probably dreaming about what they could do with your refund as well.

After reaching an all-time high of more than 700,000 cases in 2015, tax refund fraud has been declining thanks to significant enforcement efforts by federal, state, and private agencies. While these statistics are encouraging, they also highlight the ongoing need for caution and vigilance. So, before you file your 2018 taxes or pay someone to file for you, we want to remind you about six of the most common tax-related scams happening today.

Phishing Emails

This one is relatively easy to spot. Why’s that, you ask? Because the IRS doesn’t initiate communication with taxpayers via email. So, if you see an email from the IRS pop up in your inbox—even one that looks remarkably official, don’t open it. For good measure, go ahead and mark it as spam before deleting it. Emails of this type have only one goal: to trick you into clicking a fraudulent hyperlink or responding with sensitive personal information.

Phishing 2.0

In 2018, the IRS reported a new twist on traditional phishing scams. In the new approach, fraudsters hacked the systems of legitimate tax professionals, stole tax returns containing personal details, and then deposited funds directly into taxpayer bank accounts. After those deposits hit the bank, the criminals posed as the IRS or collection agencies and contacted account holders demanding a resolution to the error. The goal of these scams is not to simply regain the money deposited “in error,” but to get the victim to share account details that can be used to access the account at another time. If you find yourself with an unexpected deposit in your bank account, the IRS offers helpful instructions here.

Phone scams

Though they come via phone call, these scams are essentially the same as phishing emails. The difference lies in the fact that con artists can spoof IRS phone numbers in an attempt to convince unsuspecting people to answer the call. Once the phone call is underway, the person on the other end claims to be an IRS agent and tries to get the individual to confirm private account details in an attempt to “resolve the situation.” If they don’t get the results they’re hoping for, the fraudsters may even follow-up with phone calls where they impersonate law enforcement officials and threaten legal action. To avoid accidentally divulging personal details, it’s best to ignore these calls completely. Just as the IRS doesn’t initially contact taxpayers by email, they also don’t initiate official communication by phone either.

Refund Theft

This type of scam takes place at the intersection of identity theft and financial fraud. Using a variety of tactics, criminals obtain taxpayer social security numbers and file fraudulent tax returns in their name—often claiming substantial refunds. Since this happens without the knowledge of the victim, it only comes to light when their legitimate tax return is rejected due to a previous return already filed under the same social security number. While the IRS is committed to resolving these issues when they happen, the process can be long and tedious. To safeguard yourself against tax refund theft, IRS officials recommend obtaining an Identity Protection PIN, also known as an IP PIN. Instructions for securing a PIN can be found on the official IRS website.

Shady Tax Prep Services

Since an estimated 79 million Americans use paid tax preparation services, there are considerable opportunities for dishonest preparers to abuse the system. One of the most common scams involves a preparer illegally inflating an individual’s refund and collecting a percentage of the taxpayer’s refund instead of a flat fee. Many times, the problem isn’t identified until after the refund has been issued and the preparer’s fee has been collected. In these scams, the preparer is long gone by the time that the problem is identified, and the taxpayer is responsible for handling the audit on their own. While the practice of a tax preparer charging a percentage of refund isn’t technically illegal, you’re better off avoiding this type of arrangement and opting for a flat-fee service instead.

Public Wi-Fi Scammers

It seems like this one should go without saying, but we could all use a reminder from time to time. The public Wi-Fi at coffee shops, libraries, and bookstores can be great for hopping online to browse social media, but it’s terrible for filing your taxes. Not only can these unsecured networks be accessed by almost anyone, but dishonest scammers can also set up hot spots that look like the establishment’s Wi-Fi and intercept logins, passwords, and personal information. So, if you’re filing taxes electronically this year (and considering the fact that approximately 90% of taxpayers filed electronically in 2018, you probably are), do yourself a favor: file at home from your personal computer and your secure Internet connection.

As with most financial scams, these can be simple to sidestep as long as you know the signs to look for. If you observe questionable practices, want to read up more on tax season scams, or have additional tax-related concerns, you can find more information and helpful instructions here on the official IRS website.

If you are receiving a federal or state tax refund this year and want to make the most of your money, contact us here at First Financial Federal Credit Union. Our financial specialists can help you assess your financial situation and show you all the beneficial programs and products available to you as a credit union member. Call, email, or stop by a branch today!