The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has issued a warning for taxpayers regarding scammers offering to help with online accounts.
As Tax Day approaches this month, the IRS is sending out a string of warnings about common scams that can compromise financial safety as part of its Dirty Dozen campaign. Each year, the IRS lists 12 common tax hoaxes that are often reported in the run up to the filing deadline, which falls on April 15 this year.
In its latest installment, the government agency has warned tax filers of criminals posing as friendly third party assistance, then using stolen information to file false tax returns that can result in large refunds being issued straight to a scammers bank account.
Using an IRS Online Account is the easiest and quickest way for taxpayers to view up-to-date information about the state of their federal taxes, such as current balance, payment history, any relevant IRS notices and more. As a haven for someone's personal tax data, online accounts are often the target of third party scammers.
The IRS outlines that criminals looking to gain access to your personal information will often pose as a "helpful" third party that offers to create the account on their behalf. They will often make the set up seem like a complicated effort, when in actual fact the process is quite simple.
Read more: Where's My Tax Refund?
A scammer will usually ask their target for personal information such as their Social Security number, Individual Taxpayer Identification number (ITIN) and their home address. Once in possession of the key information, they can use the details to file fraudulent tax returns, obtain loans and open credit accounts. In some cases, they can sell the data on to other scammers for a profit.
The IRS warns that no third party should ever be used to set up an IRS Online Account, and that they can only be set up on the official IRS.gov website.
"As the IRS and the Security Summit partners strengthen our internal defenses, scammers evolve to come up with new ways to try to steal valuable information from taxpayers," IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel said. "An online account at IRS.gov can help taxpayers view important details about their tax situation. But scammers have realized the sensitive information there is valuable to them, so they're now focusing on tricking people that they need help setting up an account."
Read more: 2023-2024 Tax Brackets and Federal Income Tax Rates
"This is just an elaborate scam designed to obtain valuable and sensitive tax information that scammers will use to try to steal a refund," Werfel added. "Taxpayers should avoid sharing sensitive personal data over the phone, email or social media to protect themselves and avoid getting caught up in these scams."
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