It’s Smishing Season!

Feb 4th, 2023

Smishing is a type of phishing scam where cyber criminals try to trick you by sending fraudulent SMS or text messages. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has issued a warning for taxpayers about a recent increase in IRS-themed smishing scams aimed at stealing personal and financial information.

This is a good example of a bad smishing scam. While we wouldn’t fall for this one, the IRS has reported multiple large-scale smishing campaigns that have delivered thousands – and even hundreds of thousands – of IRS-themed messages in hours or a few days, far exceeding previous levels of activity."
 

Everyone should know how the IRS contacts taxpayers. This will help people avoid becoming a victim of scammers who pretend to be from the IRS.
 

Here are some facts about how the IRS communicates with taxpayers: 

• The IRS doesn't normally initiate contact with taxpayers by email. 

• They do not send text messages or contact people through social media. 

• When the IRS needs to contact a taxpayer, the first contact is normally by letter delivered by the U.S. Postal Service. 

The IRS will not: 

• Demand a specific payment method, such as a prepaid debit card or gift card. The IRS will not ask for debit or credit card numbers over the phone.  

• Demand immediate tax payment.  

• Threaten to bring in local police, immigration officers, or other law enforcement agencies to arrest you.

 

The IRS asks that you forward any smishing or other phishing scams using the following process:  

 

• Send the email to phishing@irs.gov  

• All incidents, successful and attempted, should also be reported to the Internet Crime Complaint Center. 

• Any individual entering personal information, or otherwise finding themselves a victim of tax-related scams, can find additional resources at Identity Theft Central on IRS.gov. 

For more information on how to avoid or report see the IRS website.

Sources: Image by Adobe Stock