By BECKY RUTHERFORD
Los Alamos

Spring is in the air, and online scammers are just gearing up for another big season…tax filing time. As always, the IRS is warning the public to stay alert against a variety of scams via email, text, phone calls and even mail.

These threats are certainly present all year long, but with the approaching tax season scammers will be ramping up efforts to trick taxpayers and tax professionals.

The IRS urges taxpayers and tax professionals to be alert to fake communications posing as the IRS or State tax authorities, and other legitimate organizations in the tax and financial community. Suspicious messages can arrive in many ways, including via unsolicited text or email to lure victims to provide personal and financial information that can lead to identity theft.

These can include:

• Phishing- an email sent by scammers claiming to come from the IRS or another legitimate organization, including state tax organizations or a financial firm. The email entices the victims into the scam by a variety of lures such as a phony tax refund or trying to scare them with false legal/criminal charges for tax fraud.

• Smishing- a text or smartphone SMS message that uses the same techniques as phishing, just via text message. Scammers often use alarming language to create a sense of urgency like, “Your account has been put on hold,” or “Unusual Activity Report” with a bogus link to restore the user’s account. Unexpected tax refunds are another potential target for these messages.

• Vishing- phone call using similar techniques to phishing, usually with a sense of urgency; e.g. if you can’t make payment now legal action will be taken.

Most legitimate contacts with the IRS will be initiated through regular mail, which means taxpayers shouldn’t be getting an unexpected message by email, text, phone calls or social media regarding a bill or tax refund.

This year brings a new threat- AI driven tax scams. In an alarming trend, scammers use AI-generated voice scams to impersonate IRS agents or tax professionals with realistic voices and conversation. With the ability to easily create and spread these voice scams, taxpayers have to be vigilant to ensure they don’t get tricked by scammers this year. Again, most legitimate contacts with the IRS will be initiated through regular mail, which means if you get a phone call from the IRS it is almost certainly a scam.

Never click on or interact with any unsolicited communication claiming to be the IRS or others because it may lead to a malware infection, or it could also be a way for malicious hackers to load ransomware that keeps the legitimate user from accessing their system and files. The scams should be reported by sending the email or a copy/screenshot of the text/SMS as an attachment to phishing@irs.gov

The public can also report scams to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration or the Internet Crime Complaint Center. The Report Phishing and Online Scams page at IRS.gov provides complete details. The Federal Communications Commission’s Smartphone Security Checker is a useful tool against mobile security threats.

The IRS also warns users to be wary of messages that appear to be from friends or family but are possibly compromised or spoofed email or text accounts from someone they know. This remains a popular way to target individuals and tax preparers for many scams. Individuals should verify the identity of the sender by using another communication method; for instance, calling a number they independently know to be accurate, not the number provided in the email or text.

Signs that you may already be the victim of a scam:

• Taxpayers receiving a tax transcript in the mail from the IRS that was not ordered.
• Taxpayers receiving an unrequested Employer Identification Number.
• Taxpayers receiving W-2’s from an unknown employer.
• Taxpayers unexpectedly getting a notice or an email from a tax preparation company

that is:

• Confirming access to an existing online account.
• Disabling an existing online account.
• Confirming a new online account.
• Getting a letter from the IRS during a year that the taxpayer didn’t earn income or a tax return hadn’t been filed. In this situation, it’s possible an identity thief has submitted a tax return in the honest taxpayer’s name. In this situation, where the taxpayer didn’t earn money or file a return, the warning sign is a letter showing:

• Additional tax is owed.
• A refund was offset because of a balance due.
• Collection actions have been taken.

In general, the IRS starts with a mailed paper bill to a person who owes taxes. If a taxpayer wants to verify taxes they may owe the IRS, they should view tax account information on the IRS webpage. Never click on links in email or texts saying that money is owed to the IRS.

Stay safe online, and remember that IRS scams are incoming, and keep an eye out for signs you may have already been a victim of identity theft.