Scammers and imposters who are posing as Internal Revenue Service collectors are on the rise with identity thieves contacting taxpayers through fraudulent calls, emails, texts or social media messages pretending to be the IRS.
Here are tips to help taxpayers know when the IRS is truly contacting them.
Letters and Notices
A letter or notice is the initial method the IRS will contact a taxpayer.
Should you receive any letter or notice from what appears to be the IRS, check to see if it is really from the IRS:
- Log into their secure IRS Online Account to see if a copy of the notice or letter is in their file.
- Review common IRS letters and notices at the Understanding Your IRS Notice or Letter page on IRS.gov.
- Contact IRS customer service directly to authenticate it, if they are not able to authenticate in their online account, as the IRS system is not always up to date, as to letters or notices that have been issued.
- Verify that any collection notice from a private collection agency has the same Taxpayer Authentication Number as the Notice CP40 the taxpayer received from the IRS. Taxpayers can visit Private Debt Collection Frequently Asked Questions to learn more about verifying a private collection agency.
While all of the above are good first steps, we have found in many cases that the IRS systems are not current as to communications that have been sent out by the agency, therefore we suggest that you always contact your tax representative, or our offices immediately upon receipt of any communications from the IRS.
In no instance or situation do we suggest that you contact the issuing party by phone or respond by email. Call us or your tax representative.
Phone calls
Should you receive an audit letter, you will receive a follow up notice or letter that an IRS agent may call to confirm an appointment or discuss items for a scheduled audit.
Taxpayers should know that:
- The IRS does not leave pre-recorded, urgent or threatening messages.
- Scammers will tell victims that if they do not call back, a warrant will be issued for their arrest. Anyone making threats is a scammer. The IRS does not issue warrants for failure to respond to a notice. If the notice is in fact from the IRS, they will issue several consecutive notices over several weeks to obtain your response. It is best practice to contact your tax representative, or us upon receiving the first notice. Ignoring any correspondence from the IRS can be extremely problematic and potentially end in severe sanctions.
- Private collection agencies contracted by the IRS may call taxpayers to collect certain outstanding inactive tax liabilities, but only after the taxpayer and their representative have received numerous written notices.
- The IRS and its authorized private collection agencies will never ask a taxpayer to pay using any form of pre-paid card, store or online gift card. Taxpayers can review the IRS payments page at IRS.gov/payments for all legitimate ways to make a payment.
Email, Text, or Social Media
The IRS does not contact taxpayers by email, text message, or social media to request personal or financial information. Some common electronic scams that thieves use are:
- Sending phishing emails to taxpayers.
- Posing as an IRS social media account to contact taxpayers about a fake bill or refund.
- Texting taxpayers about fake “tax credits” or “stimulus payments.”
These messages will often direct taxpayers to click fraudulent links they claim are IRS websites or other online tools. DO NOT RESPOND TO ANY TEXT OR EMAIL – THESE ARE FRAUDULENT ATTEMPTS TO OBTAIN YOUR PERSONAL DATA.
The IRS will mail a letter or notice before calling or emailing, and they will never contact a taxpayer by social media or text message.
In-Person Visits
The IRS recently ended unannounced initial visits to taxpayers. It is always best upon receipt of any IRS or other taxing authority communication of any sort to contact us immediately.
Peter Muffoletto is with the managing partner at Muffoletto & Company and can be reached at
(818) 346-2160, or you can visit the web site at www.petemcpa.com.