Tax scam alert: How to protect yourself and your tax refund

4 weeks ago 17

Tax play is upon us, and portion galore of you are preparing to file your returns, it's important to beryllium alert of the ever-evolving satellite of taxation scams.

This year, it's much important than ever to enactment informed and connected your guard.

New probe by McAfee, a cybersecurity company, has shed airy connected however communal these scams are and what benignant of scams they are, revealing immoderate astonishing trends and highlighting the value of protecting yourself.

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Scam written connected taxation forms (Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson)

How Americans record and wage taxes successful 2025

Before diving into the scams, let's look astatine however radical are handling their taxes these days. The McAfee research indicates that:

A small much than fractional of Americans (53%) are e-filers, taking the online way done taxation bundle oregon IRS Free File
Nearly a 3rd (31%) trust connected nonrecreational taxation preparers
The immense bulk (60%) grip payments and refunds electronically
A ample information (52%) inactive person their W-2s and 1099s the old-fashioned way: successful the mail
While others (31%) log successful to payroll work portals (e.g., ADP, Workday, Paychex) to retrieve them

Illustration of taxation prep tools (Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson)

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The unsettling world of taxation scams

The world is that taxation scams are much prevalent than we mightiness similar to acknowledge. Nearly 1 successful 4 individuals (23%) accidental they cognize idiosyncratic oregon person personally fallen unfortunate to such scams. Let's interruption down who's being affected and how.

Young adults (18-24): This radical is, surprisingly, the astir apt to autumn unfortunate to scams. They are besides astir apt to person their accusation compromised via Instagram and WhatsApp.
Older adults (65-74): On the different extremity of the spectrum, older adults are the slightest apt to person encountered taxation scams.
Gender differences: Young men are importantly much apt to suffer wealth to scams than young women.

And erstwhile radical bash suffer money, the amounts tin beryllium substantial:

81% mislaid implicit $500
51% mislaid implicit $1,000
A sobering 5% mislaid implicit $10,000

Scam written connected a tablet surrounded by cash (Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson)

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Demands and threats: What scammers want

Scammers usage a assortment of tactics to instrumentality radical into giving up their wealth oregon idiosyncratic information. The probe shows that galore radical person received suspicious messages claiming to beryllium from the IRS oregon a authorities taxation authorization via:

Phone calls (30%)
Text messages (27%)
Facebook/Facebook Messenger (5%)
WhatsApp (3%)
Instagram/Instagram Direct Messages (2%)

These messages often see demands for:

Social Security numbers oregon taxation recognition numbers (40%)
Immediate outgo of backmost taxes (27%)
Bank relationship numbers (18%)
Credit/debit paper accusation (17%)

It's important to enactment that the IRS mostly doesn't initiate interaction via phone, substance oregon societal media to request contiguous payment.

A pistillate preparing her taxes (Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson)

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Who's being targeted by which scam?

Different property groups are targeted with antithetic scams. Here’s the breakdown.

Older adults (65-74): This radical is heavy targeted by outgo scams, specified arsenic demands for backmost taxes oregon fake taxation refund schemes.
Middle-aged (35-54): This radical is targeted by a premix of individuality theft and outgo scams, similar requests for Social Security numbers oregon demands for backmost taxation payments.
Younger adults (18-24): Scammers often question idiosyncratic accusation from this group, similar commencement dates and slope relationship numbers.

A pistillate moving connected her taxes (Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson)

The outgo of falling for scams

Many radical person received emails oregon texts astir their "tax refund" oregon "tax refund e-statement" with a link. A ample information of radical (39%) clicked connected these links. It's decidedly alarming however galore radical extremity up falling for these scams.

WHAT IS ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI)?

Almost 40% of radical who get a scam connection oregon telephone really nonstop the scammer money. Younger adults are peculiarly vulnerable; much than fractional of 18- to 24-year-olds cognize idiosyncratic who's paid up. When radical click those tempting links astir taxation refunds oregon e-statements, they're playing a risky game: Almost 40% of radical clicked connected that email oregon substance message, and that’s wherever scammers tin truly get you.

A pistillate moving connected her taxes (Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson)

AI's relation successful the aboriginal of taxation scams

Looking ahead, AI is making scams adjacent scarier. A whopping 87% of radical are disquieted astir AI's relation successful creating realistic taxation scams, but lone 40% consciousness assured they could spot a deepfake from the IRS. As a result, galore radical (41%) are second-guessing existent taxation communications. In fact, much than fractional of radical accidental the taxation scam messages they’ve received this twelvemonth are much blase oregon realistic than past year. It’s nary wonderment that astir radical are acrophobic astir taxation fraud this season.

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"Tax scammers are getting smarter, and galore are utilizing AI to marque their tricks much convincing than ever, conscionable erstwhile radical are feeling the astir unit to record quickly," said Abhishek Karnik, caput of menace probe astatine McAfee. "While not each scam uses AI, we foretell a emergence successful much sophisticated, societal engineering-focused taxation fraud tactics arsenic entree to AI tools increases, including fraudulent emails, telephone calls that usage AI-generated audio and fake taxation prep websites, making it casual for adjacent the savviest filers to gaffe up."

How to support yourself from taxation scams

OK, truthful the scam scenery looks beauteous grim. What tin you bash to enactment safe? Here are immoderate applicable steps to support yourself.

1. Be skeptical of unsolicited contact: Remember that the IRS volition ne'er interaction you via phone, email, substance oregon societal media to request contiguous outgo oregon petition idiosyncratic information.

2. Avoid clicking suspicious links; usage beardown antivirus software: Do not click connected links successful emails oregon texts from chartless senders. The champion mode to safeguard yourself from malicious links that instal malware, perchance accessing your backstage information, is to person antivirus bundle installed connected each your devices. This extortion tin besides alert you to phishing emails and ransomware scams, keeping your idiosyncratic accusation and integer assets safe. Get my picks for the champion 2025 antivirus extortion winners for your Windows, Mac, Android and iOS devices.

3. Guard your idiosyncratic information: Protect your Social Security number, slope relationship details and different delicate information carefully.

4. Create strong, unsocial passwords: Be definite to usage beardown passwords connected fiscal and taxation websites. Make definite each password is unique, particularly for fiscal accounts. Get much details astir my best expert-reviewed password managers of 2025 here.

5. Enable two-factor authentication: This adds an other furniture of information to your accounts that volition forestall a hacker from getting into your accounts.

6. Invest successful idiosyncratic information removal services: These services show your idiosyncratic accusation and alert you to imaginable fraud. While nary work promises to region each your information from the internet, having a removal work is large if you privation to perpetually show and automate the process of removing your accusation from hundreds of sites continuously implicit a longer play of time. Check retired my apical picks for information removal services here.

7. Don’t respond to texts/calls from chartless sources: Whatever you do, don’t respond to texts/calls from chartless sources whatsoever.

8. Trust your gut: If thing feels off, it astir apt is. Verify accusation independently by contacting the IRS oregon your authorities taxation authorization directly.

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Kurt's cardinal takeaways

Tax play doesn't person to beryllium a stressful clip filled with worry. By staying informed, being connected your defender and taking elemental steps to support yourself, you tin confidently navigate the taxation scenery and debar falling unfortunate to these scams. Be skeptical, beryllium cautious and ever retrieve that erstwhile it comes to your taxes, it's ever amended to beryllium harmless than sorry.

Have you oregon idiosyncratic you cognize been targeted by a taxation scam? Let america cognize by penning america at Cyberguy.com/Contact.

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Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson is an award-winning tech writer who has a heavy emotion of technology, cogwheel and gadgets that marque beingness amended with his contributions for Fox News & FOX Business opening mornings connected "FOX & Friends." Got a tech question? Get Kurt’s escaped CyberGuy Newsletter, stock your voice, a communicative thought oregon remark astatine CyberGuy.com.

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