Pretending to be IRS
Criminals may masquerade as IRS agents in person, over the phone, via email, or even through the mail. These scams typically rely on threats of legal action against the victim and requiring immediate payment to the “IRS agent.” Legitimate IRS Agents will never require payment directly to the agent. Additionally, the IRS will first contact you by mail and will not require a specific type of payment.
False Tax Returns
Suspects may also file false income tax returns using stolen identity information. This information may be purchased from a dark net market. Refunds are sent to pre-paid cards. Victims are unaware until they attempt to file their actual returns.
Pretending to be a Tax Preparer
Criminals may also pretend to be tax preparers. They may:
- Call homes and offer free or discounted services.
- Create fake websites and convince victims to enter their personal information.
- Post fake phone numbers in online ads to get victims to call them
Fake tax preparers may also set up fake physical locations. Only trust reputable tax preparation companies!
Stealing IRS PIN
Identity Protection Personal Identification Numbers (PINs) were created by the IRS to give confirmed identity theft victims a way to verify their tax information. Unfortunately, thieves can also access a person’s PIN to file a return by using other/ additional stolen personal information. The PIN can also be accessed by:
- Stealing IRS PIN notification from the mail
- Using the online retrieval tool using knowledge-based identifiers
- Brute force (trying a list of PINs in the system)
File returns early and report lost or stolen PINs!
Resources for Victims
- If your identity is stolen and the information is used in a tax-related fraud, https://www.irs.gov/uadtaxpayer-guide-to-identity-theft.
- For additional descriptions of common tax-related scams, visit https://www.irs.gov/uadnewsroorn/irs-releases-the-dirtv-dozen-tax-scams-for-2014-identity-theft-phone-scams-lead-list.
- For more on how to choose a tax return preparer, how to report fraud activity, common scams, and tax fraud investigations, visit https://www.justice.gov/tax/program-shut-down-schemes-and-scams