Phishing & Tax Scams
Phishing scams are becoming more prevalent and constantly evolving. Please note that the IRS won’t be calling or emailing you out of the blue asking you to verify your personal tax information or aggressively threatening you to make an immediate payment. The IRS initiates contact with an official letter that is mailed to your home address, not by telephoning or emailing. If you have any questions to the authenticity of any communications, please consult your tax advisor.
The IRS will never:
- Call to demand immediate payment over the phone, nor will the agency call about taxes owed without first having mailed you several bills.
- Call or email you to verify your identity by asking for personal and financial information.
- Demand that you pay taxes without giving you the opportunity to question or appeal the amount they say you owe.
- Require you to use a specific payment method for your taxes, such as a prepaid debit card.
- Ask for credit or debit card numbers over the phone or e-mail.
- Threaten to immediately bring in local police or other law-enforcement groups to have you arrested for not paying.
Some Phishing Links from IRS website
ALERT: New tactics by phone scammers
IRS impersonators call claiming they need to verify financial details to process your return.
ALERT: Payroll and HR professionals
An email scheme claims to be from company executives and requests employee W-2 information.
Consumer Alert: Recent phishing schemes
The IRS has seen a 400 percent surge in phishing and malware incidents so far this tax season.