IRS partners and Security Summit regularly warn people about common scams including IRS annual Dirty Dozen list.

Taxpayers and tax professionals should be alert to false communications impersonating legitimate organizations in the tax and financial community, including the IRS and states. These messages may come in the form of an unsolicited text message or email to lure unsuspecting victims into providing valuable personal and financial information that can lead to identity theft, including the Phishing and smishing.

The IRS never initiates contact with taxpayers via email, text, or social media regarding a tax bill or refund.

As a reminder: never click on any unsolicited communication claiming to be from the IRS, as it can upload malware covertly. It can also be a way for malicious hackers to upload ransomware which prevents the legitimate user from accessing your system and files.

People should never respond to Phishing o smishing related to taxes or click the URL link. Instead, scams should be reported by sending the email or a copy of the text/SMS as an attachment to Phishing@irs.gov. The report must include the caller ID (email or phone number), date, time and time zone, and the number that received the message.

Taxpayers can also report scams to Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration or Internet Crime Complaint Center. The page Report fraudulent practice of information fishing on IRS.gov provides complete details. He Smartphone Security Checker from the Federal Communications Commission is a useful tool against mobile security threats.

The IRS is also warning taxpayers to beware of messages that appear to be from friends or family, but are possibly stolen or compromised email or text accounts of someone they know. This remains a popular way to target individuals and tax preparers for a variety of scams. People must verify the identity of the sender using another method of communication; for example, by calling a number they themselves know to be correct, not the number provided in the email or text message.