IRS SCAM ALERT

You always need to be on guard, but scammers/threat actors are more active at certain times of year. Tax season is one of those. Here are some tips to help you avoid falling for a tax scam this tax season.

Scammers will try to mislead you about tax refunds, credits, and payments and they attempt to do so while impersonating the IRS. With this false impersonation they will pressure you or threaten you for personal, financial, or employment information.

Artificial intelligence (AI) has added a layer to tax scams. The IRS has listed AI enabled IRS impersonations by phone as a scam to be cautious of on their 2026 Dirty Dozen scam list (link to list). Scammers will use computer-generated tactics and spoofed caller IDs to appear legitimate. (On the topic of AI, the IRS also warns taxpayers not to rely on AI-generated responses for tax questions, and to verify any calculations or information provided by AI.)

If the IRS needs to contact you, they will first notify you by mail delivered through the U.S. Postal Service; they will never call you. Instead, they use automated messages that direct you to the IRS.gov website to securely manage your account and resolve issues. The IRS will not share specific details over the phone or email, nor will they ask for personal information.

Most importantly, the IRS will NOT use social media to contact you, accept gift cards or prepaid debit cards as payments, or call with automated messages that threaten you. Here are a few items the IRS wants you to keep in mind:

• A big payday - If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Bad tax advice on social media may convince you to lie on tax forms or mislead you about credits you can claim, and offers to process it for you.
• Demands or threats - Impersonators want you to pay “now or else.” They threaten arrest or deportation. They don’t let you question or appeal the amount of tax you owe. 
• Website links - Odd or misspelled web links can take you to harmful sites instead of IRS.gov.

You can report suspected tax scams, suspicious activity, or other tax-related wrongdoing at IRS.gov/help/report-fraud.