The Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigation Division is warning Utahns about a new wave of scams as the agency delivers the second round of COVID-19 stimulus payments.
According to a press release, in the past few the division has seen a variety of financial schemes designed to take advantage of these payments. Some of the most common COVID-19-related scams include: text messages asking taxpayers to disclose bank information, phishing schemes using email, letters and social media messages and unofficial sales of fake at-home COVID-19 test kits.
The best way people can protect themselves is by understanding how the IRS communicates with taxpayers. It does not send unsolicited messages through emails or texts and it never calls people with threats or demands for tax payments on gift cards.
COVID-19-related scams should be reported to the National Center for Disaster Fraud Hotline at 1-866-720-5721 or submitted through the NCDF Web Complaint Form.
To learn more about these scams and other financial schemes, visit IRS.gov.