Common 'IRS' Scams

The essential goal for all scammers trying to procure money from unknowing victims is to establish some sort of trust. Usually this is done by identifying oneself as part of a legitimate, or at least legitimate-sounding group or company. For the person trying to make money fraudulently, what better organization to use as a cover than the organization that exists to obtain large amounts of money from people? It should come as no surprise that there are many scam artists who use the IRS to make themselves seem legitimate.

Email Scams

Scammers sometime impersonate the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) via email, phone, mail, and even in person. Email scams are the most prevalent nowadays. An email sent with the intent to scam may seem incredibly legitimate among first glance. Oftentimes the email address attached to it appears to be associated with the official IRS website (www.irs.gov), such as tax-refunds@irs.gov or admin@irs.gov.

Regardless of the actual message, most of these emails will specify a branch of the IRS with whom they supposedly are associated. Usually not even real departments, “Fraud Department”, “IRS Criminal Investigation”, and “Anti-Fraud Commission” all have been used in email scams.


There are two main types of email scams: ‘phishing’ scams and virus scams. Phishing scams are more common and involve trying to trick you into providing your personally identifiable information and financial information. These scams target both your finances directly and your identity. Virus scams coax you into clicking on a link or downloading an attachment that will put a virus on your computer. Such viruses allow the scammer to extract identifying information for your computer.

Do not click on any links or download any attachments within unsolicited email from the “IRS”. Remember that scammers are experts at appearing legitimate, to the point where a fake website can look extremely similar to the real thing. If you believe that you have received a fraudulent email claiming to be from the IRS, forward it to phishing@irs.gov for investigation.

Following are examples of some of the most common IRS scams, email campaigns or otherwise:

Possible Fraud -- Scammers may tell you that you are being investigated for possible fraud. You will be asked to fill out a form with much identifiable information.

Tax Return Problems -- You may be told that the tax return you submitted was not legitimate in some way. Again, you will have to fill out a form with much identifiable information.

Filed Complaint -- Sometimes it is implied that a taxpayer filed a complaint, and that more personally identifiable information now is necessary.

Refunds -- A scammer might tell you that a refund is being withheld from you because more financial information is needed, that you can obtain a refund on the social security taxes that you have paid, or that you are eligible for a refund due to specific circumstances.


Correspondence with the IRS

The IRS is nothing if not official and consistent in its correspondence with taxpayers. Keep in mind the following tips to get a very quick idea of whether or not someone contacting you really is from the IRS, or if he or she is a scam artist.

The IRS will never:

• Send out unsolicited emails.

• Ask for any PIN numbers or passwords from you.

• Ask for a credit card number or information on your bank account(s).

• Charge you a fee (such as a ‘shipping’ cost) to get a refund.

• Ask that you make out a check to anyone other than the U.S. Treasury

• Ask for information that they already have, such as your social security number.

When the IRS needs to contact you, it almost certainly will be via U.S. mail. Contained in the letter should be a toll-free number for you to call to contact a representative directly. If you do receive a phone call, ask for the name of the person with whom you are speaking, and call them back at the IRS. If you ever are uncertain about any contact that you have had, then call the IRS at 800-829-1040.