Guard Against IRS-Themed Scams

Tax season brings fraud. In one common scam a person pretends to be an IRS agent and threatens to arrest you if you don’t immediately pay a tax debt. Or scammers may claim you have a refund and need to provide your bank or credit card information to receive it. Scammer may contact you by phone, email, letter or online.

The IRS will never initiate contact with individuals by telephone, text messages, email or social media. If you get a call, email or text from someone claiming to be from the IRS it’s fraud.

• If you get a call from someone claiming to be from the IRS, hang up immediately.
• Don’t click on any links or content within an email claiming to be from the IRS. Delete it.
• Only sites that contain “www.irs.gov” URLs should be treated as legitimate. If you come across a non-irs.gov website, social media link or pop-up window, close it.
• If you have unresolved business with the IRS, call them directly at 800-829-1040.

For more information from the IRS read this IRS-themed scam alert. You can report scam calls by calling 800-366-4484, or report them online.

For information on current scams and alerts, read our Fraud Alerts page. Subscribe to the newsletter and alerts by clicking the link at the upper-right corner of the section.