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In recent weeks, some Americans have reported that they've received emails purportedly from members of the IRS phishing for personal information through both professional and personal accounts.
According to reports, the emails have been coming from spam accounts and address taxpayers at the top of the email with the term “dear user,” and no specific name.
Officials noted that some of the emails are riddled with spelling and grammar errors, and according to the IRS, they will never initiate contact with taxpayers through email, text messages, or social media.
IRS officials said that the scams “may differ in themes, but they generally have two traits:”
- They appear to come from a known or trusted source, such as a colleague, bank, credit card company, cloud storage provider, tax software provider, or even the IRS;
- They tell a story, often with an urgent tone, to trick the receiver into opening a link or attachment.
“Identity thieves have been relentless in exploiting the pandemic and the resulting economic pain to trick taxpayers and tax professionals to disclose sensitive information," IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig said.
"Fighting back against phishing scams requires constant vigilance, and we urge tax pros to take some basic steps to help protect their clients and themselves."
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