The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is doubling down on warnings about the possibility of child tax credit scams.
“#IRS reminder: Be alert to criminals that ask by phone, email, text or on social media to verify your information claiming it’s needed to get advance #ChildTaxCredit payments. http://irs.gov/childtaxcredit20,” the IRS tweeted Thursday.
#IRS reminder: Be alert to criminals that ask by phone, email, text or on social media to verify your information claiming it’s needed to get advance #ChildTaxCredit payments. https://t.co/535gR8FJvp pic.twitter.com/JVYgZ43dyK
— IRSnews (@IRSnews) July 22, 2021
“The #IRS Identity Theft Central gives taxpayers, #taxpros and businesses information on how to report identity theft and how to protect themselves against scams. Visit http://irs.gov/identitytheft #TaxSecurity,” the agency said in another tweet Thursday.
The IRS started sending child tax credit payments to parents last week, part of a coronavirus stimulus package that President Biden enacted in March. Families who are eligible for the payments will receive $300 monthly for children who are under 6 years old and $250 for children between the ages of 6 and 17.
In a YouTube video posted in late June, the IRS warned that “cyber criminals use every opportunity to try to scam people out of money” and that people should be “aware that thieves may use these payments as bait.”
The IRS…
