(NEXSTAR) – The Internal Revenue Service recently announced it is contacting millions of people who are still owed stimulus payments, earned income tax credits, child tax credits or other benefits. Now scammers are looking to cash in on the news, too, experts say.
If you’re one of the over 9 million Americans believed to be owed a payment from the IRS, there are a few telltale things to watch out for to avoid falling victim to a scam, tax attorney Adam Brewer told Nexstar.
“The IRS will never text you and will rarely, if ever, call you,” Brewer said in an email. “If someone texts you claiming to be from the IRS you can be 100% certain it is a scam.”
In late September, the IRS warned of a recent spike in IRS-themed texting scams designed to steal personal and financial information. In 2022 alone, the IRS says it has reported thousands of so-called “smishing” scams that are carried out by text message.
If you get a phone call from someone claiming to represent the IRS, it is almost surely a scam.
“The IRS sends letters,” Brewer said. If you think you are owed money by the IRS, then look for a letter in the mail, go directly to the IRS’s website at IRS.gov, or consult with a tax professional.”
Why didn’t so many people initially get the IRS payments?
Many of those people didn’t initially get their payments because the IRS…
