Beware of Tax Scams

TrainMyParent.com
8 hours ago
3 min read

A calculator and financial documents. — Preparing your taxes is never fun.

Tax season is upon us, and so are the scammers who will try to steal your tax refund, or worse! In 2026, the IRS has a few new rules that might be used by scammers in new ways.

We have written about tax refund scams where the criminals file false tax returns on the victim's behalf to claim their refund, and IRS direct deposit email scams related to stimulus relief payments, but now scammers are using a new trick to get your funds.

How it Works: Starting this year, the IRS is doing away with paper refund checks, and will only send you your refund via wire transfer into your bank account. Scammers have been taking advantage of this new rule and the confusion around it, following a few new plays in their playbook.

First, we are seeing instances of scammers posing as IRS agents who need to verify your banking information as part of the new rule. Of course, they make this an urgent request that ultimately gets you to divulge your account information so that they can attempt to break into it or write checks against it.

In addition, these scammers often create a sense of urgency by telling you that you owe back taxes that need to be paid immediately or they will take legal action against you. Of course, they want you to promptly wire the funds to their account, or pay by cryptocurrency or gift cards.

Tax scam emails also on the rise, in which the scammers tell you via email that you have a refund or rebate coming your way, and all you need to do is to click on a (malware-installing) link, or call this phone number and verify your banking information. All of these are designed to get you to give up your personal information so they can exploit you.

What You Can Do: When dealing with the IRS, keep in mind that they will initially send you a letter if they have any issues related to your taxes. They do not reach out by telephone, text or email to initiate any communication with you. If you do get an unexpected call from an IRS agent, hang up. In addition, the IRS will never request overdue taxes to be paid via cryptocurrency, gift cards, or wire transfer. Being aware of these scammer tactics is an important part of detecting a scam.

If you are concerned that you might have an issue with your taxes, you can call the IRS directly at a number found on the irs.gov website. You should also setup an IRS identity protection PIN, especially if you have been the target of identity theft. This PIN would be required by you when filing your taxes, in order to prove you are the actual taxpayer submitting the tax return.

A paper tax refund check — The end of paper tax refund checks is here!

Tax-refund identity theft is disruptive and stressful, and are one of the many reasons why you should protect your personal information, especially your social security number. If you are the victim of identity theft and the tax return scheme, at least there are resources available to you to try to resolve the issue as quickly as possible.

What you can do if you receive an IRS phishing email? You can forward it to phishing@irs.gov, and report it to to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) at TIGTA.gov or by calling 1-800-366-4484. Finally, you can report it Report the to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) at https://reportfraud.ftc.gov/

Learn how you can protect yourself or your family by enrolling in the Complete Internet Security Basics and Phishing Awareness Course for Parents on TrainMyParent.com

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