The IRS is warning Tennessee taxpayers about COVID-19 scams related to the second round of stimulus checks.
In the last several months, the IRS’s Criminal Investigation Division (IRS-CI) has seen a variety of Economic Impact Payment (EIP) scams and other financial schemes designed to steal money and personal information from taxpayers.
According to a press release, criminals are taking advantage of the second round of EIP and the approaching filing season to trick taxpayers.
Some common COVID-19 scams include:
- Text messages asking taxpayers to disclose bank account information to receive the $1,200 EIP.
- Phishing schemes using email, letters, and social media messages with keywords such as “Coronavirus,” “COVID-19,” and “stimulus”. These communications are sent to a lot of people and aim to access personally-identifying information and financial account information (including account numbers and passwords).
- The organized and unofficial sale of fake at-home COVID-19 test kits (as well as offers to sell fake cures, vaccines, pills, and professional medical advice regarding unproven COVID-19 treatments).
- Fake donation requests for individuals, groups, and areas heavily affected by the disease.
- Opportunities to invest in companies developing COVID-19 vaccines while promising that the “company” will dramatically increase in value as a result.
The best way to avoid falling victim to a scam is knowing how the IRS communicates with taxpayers.
- The IRS does not send unsolicited texts or emails.
- The IRS does not call people with threats of jail or lawsuits, nor does it demand tax payments on gift cards.
IRS-CI is investigating hundreds of COVID-19-related cases with law enforcement agencies domestically and abroad and educating taxpayers about scams.
COVID-19 scams should be reported to the National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 1-866-720-5721 or submitted through the NCDF Web Complaint Form.
Taxpayers can also report fraud or theft of their Economic Impact Payments to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA). Reports can be made online at TIPS.TIGTA.GOV.
Taxpayers who receive unsolicited emails or social media attempts to gather information that appear to be from either the IRS or an organization closely linked to the IRS, should forward the message to phishing@irs.gov.
Taxpayers should not engage potential scammers online or on the phone.
To learn more about COVID-19 scams and other financial schemes visit IRS.gov.
