It’s the beginning of a new year, which means Americans will be filing their federal income taxes with the IRS — either anticipating a nice return or dreading the stroke of their pen to write out a nasty check.
Over the past few years, increasingly sophisticated scammers have duped Americans out of millions of dollars by exploiting tax season and the ignorance of unsuspecting taxpayers.
The IRS Spills the Dirt on Tax Season Scams
A "Dirty Dozen" list of potential tax season scams was recently published by the IRS including strong warnings of potential telephone scams and phishing attacks.
The IRS has divulged a long list of scams that taxpayers should be on the lookout for, these include many that could end up leading to identity theft.
Phone scams entail telephone calls being placed by criminals impersonating IRS agents to collect taxpayer’s information. Not only has there been a major surge in these types of scams in recent years, but scam artists threatening taxpayers with police arrest, possible deportation, and driver's license revocation and other dire consequences have been rather effective in victimizing countless citizens.
Ultimately, cybercrooks have been successful using aggressive and coercive tactics resulting in millions of dollars stolen over the past few years.
Generally, they use fake names and IRS badge numbers, as well as common names and surnames to identify themselves. They may even be able to recite the last four digits of a victim’s social security number. They spoof the IRS toll-free number on caller IDs to make it appear that it’s the IRS calling.
Many reports detail that victims hear background the noise of other calls being conducted to mimic an IRS call center.
Cybercrooks are going the extra distance to utilize aggressive scare tactics.
In many cases, after threatening victims with jail time or driver’s license revocation, another associated scammer places a follow-up call pretending to be from the local police or DMV — where the caller ID supports their claim.
Fundamentally, there is no end to the creativity of cybercrooks in their attempt to foil taxpayers and collect their personal information during tax season.
Taxpayers must know that it is not the policy of the IRS to ever ask for credit card, debit card, or prepaid card information over the telephone. In fact, the IRS will never insist that taxpayers use a specific payment method to pay tax obligations, nor would they ever request immediate payment over the phone while threatening enforcement actions immediately following a telephone conversation. Taxpayers would have usually received prior notification of IRS enforcement action involving IRS tax liens or levies through the mail.
IRS Cybercrooks are Unleashing Scams from All Angles
The reach of IRS tax scams extends well beyond the scope of phone calls. Taxpayers need to be aware of potential threats online that can compromise personal information. Cyber criminals are constantly sending fake emails and creating phony websites looking to steal personal information.
Taxpayers should also note that the IRS does not send taxpayers emails about a bill or refund out of the blue.
Most often, scammers use phishing methods to steal personal information online, which is the technique of setting up a bogus website to mimic a legitimate one. You should never click on links in suspicious emails or ones that are claiming to be from the IRS or your state government. Clicking on a questionable link may redirect you to a phishing site where you are asked to fill out a form to access your return or pay your tax bill.
Once you enter your information, it is placed in the hands of a money-hungry hacker.
Cybercrooks are Professionals at Faking It
You’ve probably seen the fake emails before. They state that you will get a large sum in lottery winnings or that your tax refund or a possible inheritance is dependent on you providing your personal and financial information.
These are the emails that you must be on the lookout for.
Take immediate action, delete them and avoid clicking on any links or attachments in the message. Such emails are designed to steal personal information, and lead you down a dark path of identity theft. Prime example, cyber-crooks have recently perpetuated a Gmail phishing scam targeting Gmail users luring them to a fake Gmail login page to scour their Google account login credentials.
As technology and our means of communication continue to advance, there will always be criminals looking to exploit those avenues for fraudulent monetary gain.
It is especially important that we be vigilant and aware of scams during and after tax season. While this coming April 18, may be the tax filing deadline, we don’t have to allow such a date to mark the time that you were duped out of your personal information and hard-earned money by a cyber-criminal.
Top Steps to Avoid Being Scammed by Cybercooks During Tax Season and Beyond:
- Never click on links within unsolicited emails or suspected spam messages
- Be vigilant and proactive by contacting authorities when you suspect a tax fraud scheme
- Never give out your personal information over the phone or through email to anyone claiming to be from the IRS
- Use caution or avoid suspicious sites or ones that may mimic the official IRS.gov site
- Keep your software up-to-date, including your web browser and anti-malware program to ward off malware that may redirect you to phishing sites
- Limit the amount of personal information that you share on social networks where criminals can use it against you.
Julio Rivera is an entrepreneur, small business consultant and political activist. He contributes to RightWingNews.com and NewsNinja2012.com, and had previously covered boxing and baseball for the now defunct "The Urban News" in his native Paterson, N.J. For more of his reports, Go Here Now
© 2026 Newsmax. All rights reserved.