Tax season is a prime time for scams. IRS uncertainty could add to the issues this year

News

Tax season is a prime time for scams. IRS uncertainty could add to the issues this year

2025-03-25 00:01 Last Updated At：00:11

NEW YORK (AP) — There's a lot of information (and money) on the table during tax season. That also makes it a prime time for scams.

Year-round, fraudsters may use a handful of common tactics to try to steal your identity, money or other sensitive information. As you prepare your annual tax return, due April 15, experts stress it's important to be extra vigilant.

This year, scammers might take particular advantage of uncertainty stemming from recent workforce cuts impacting thousands of jobs at the U.S. Internal Revenue Service. These layoffs and the potential for even more widespread reductions also raise questions about resources, including the IRS's bandwidth to respond to scams reported by consumers.

Here's what to know about tax scams and how to stay safe:

Tax scammers may try to reach you in a number of different ways — from lookalike emails, texts or phone calls impersonating the IRS to unsolicited social media offers that promise a suspiciously high refund. But there are a handful of common red flags to keep an eye out for, including:

— Sense of urgency

— Isolation tactics or threats

— Promises of a big payday

— Suspicious website links

Cybersecurity experts stress that scammers prey on emotion — and will often try to evoke fear or uncertainty. Many tax scams will ask you to act fast or click on a malicious link right away. Others will make you think you did something wrong, going as far as threatening an arrest if you don't respond. Scammers may also isolate you from contacting others, such as a trusted accounting professional or even a family member.

Many tax scams also advertise big payouts, but at a price. Some "ghost” preparers, for example, will charge you for preparing your tax return — often with promises of maximizing your refund — but never sign it. They may then file a fraudulent return in your name, with an inflated income or fake deductions to boost the refund, and switch the bank account listed to claim your money.

The IRS will never initiate contact via email, text or social media with requests for your personal information — and urges consumers to only use trusted, accredited tax professionals if you need help preparing your return. Those who have fallen victim to scams are also encouraged to report them. You can find more information on the agency's official website.

Tax scams can be all the more convincing if they meet the moment. And this year, experts warn that cyber criminals or “social engineers” might take particular advantage of uncertainty around the IRS cuts.

“Uncertainty is probably one of the biggest motivating emotions that social engineers take advantage of,” said Dave Chronister, a prominent “ethical hacker” and CEO of Parameter Security, noting that scammers might use news of these cuts and impersonate the IRS to falsely promise taxpayers “new” ways of filing.

Similar tactics emerged during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and following legitimate rounds of federal aid — with some scammers making false claims about additional stimulus checks, for example.

All it takes is just “a little bit of common knowledge” to “nudge you” into trusting them, Chronister explains.

Beyond how scammers use the news, the IRS workforce cuts could slow the agency's ability to actually respond to scams, Chronister and others note. As a result, malicious websites or predatory social media campaigns may not be taken down as quickly — and victims of fraudulent returns could have to wait longer for answers.

“There is potential for reduced oversight,” said Chris Pierson, chief executive of cybersecurity firm BlackCloak. “If you have less individuals to be proactive within an agency that is housing, I mean, an amazing treasure trove of data and information — that obviously is concerning ... (and could) create a riskier environment for the consumer.”

Asked for comment, the IRS pointed to its “Dirty Dozen” list of common tax scams to watch out for this year, among other steps taxpayers can take to protect themselves from identity theft and fraud. But the agency did not immediately comment on whether recent or future workforce cuts would impact its enforcement resources.

Scams are also becoming more sophisticated, most recently thanks to the rising adoption of generative artificial intelligence. Experts warn that this technology is being used create “hyper-realistic” phishing messages, including video or audio deepfakes, and can allow scammers to target more people at once through automation.

Pierson also warns of the fallout from recent high-profile data breaches — including the National Public Data breach, which made headlines last year for reportedly leaking a massive amount of sensitive information on the dark web, including full names, social security numbers, contact information and mailing addresses. Having that information out there could lead to more fraudulent filings, he explains, or “confidence scams" — where cyber criminals share one piece of information they have, like an address, to get people to trust them and share more.

File as soon as you can.

Nobody is eager to sit down and do their taxes, but getting it out of the way early — and before any scammers potentially try to file something in your name — makes a huge difference, Chronister explains. He adds that taxpayers can play it safe by sticking to what they know.

“If you’ve always been using TurboTax, use TurboTax. If you always use an accountant, use your accountant," Chronister said. He notes that you should also keep your information safe by password-protecting any past filings downloaded to your device and using a VPN when on public Wi-Fi.

The IRS also suggests setting up an identity protection PIN, a six-digit number that can help protect you from someone else filing in your name. You can also freeze your credit — which experts recommend as an added line of defense against future identity theft and fraud, even if you haven't been scammed. Freezing your credit prevents any new credit accounts from being created in your name. And you can always temporarily “unfreeze” if a check is needed to rent an apartment or apply for a loan. Credit freezes can be set up through three nationwide credit bureaus: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion.

And, again, remember that the IRS won't randomly contact you by email, text or phone. When in doubt, go to the official IRS website and reach out directly.

Avoiding scams can also come down to pausing before you click or act on anything. “Take a breath, count to 10 and then go, ‘OK ... is this too good to be true?'" Chronister sad. "'Is my gut telling me something is off?'”

Chronister adds that social engineering is about emotion, not intelligence — and anyone can fall for it.

“It’s human to fall for these (scams)," he said. "They’ve been here since the beginning of mankind ... So you have to stay vigilant, but don’t panic. Just keep your gut check going.”

Homeland Security Secretary Noem visits the El Salvador prison where deported Venezuelans are held

2025-03-27 09:59 Last Updated At：10:01

TECOLUCA, El Salvador (AP) — U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on Wednesday visited the high-security El Salvador prison where Venezuelans who the Trump administration alleges are gang members have been held since their removal from the United States. The tour included two crowded cell blocks, the armory and an isolation unit.

Noem's trip to the prison — where inmates are packed into cells and never allowed outside — comes as the Trump administration seeks to show it is deporting people it describes as the “worst of the worst.”

The Trump administration is arguing in federal court that it was justified in sending the Venezuelans to El Salvador, while activists say officials have sent them to a prison rife with human rights abuses.

Noem toured an area holding some of the Venezuelans accused of being gang members. In the sweltering building, the men in white T-shirts and shorts stared silently from their cell, then were heard shouting an indiscernible chant when she left.

In a cell block holding Salvadoran prisoners, about a dozen were lined up by guards near the front of their cell and told to remove their T-shirts and face masks. The men were heavily tattooed, some bearing the letters MS, for the Mara Salvatrucha gang, on their chests.

After listening to Salvadoran officials, Noem turned her back to the cell and recorded a video message.

If an immigrant commits a crime, “this is one of the consequences you could face," Noem said. "First of all, do not come to our country illegally. You will be removed and you will be prosecuted. But know that this facility is one of the tools in our toolkit that we will use if you commit crimes against the American people.”

Noem also met with El Salvador President Nayib Bukele, a populist who has gained right-wing admiration in the U.S. due to his crackdown on the country's gangs, despite the democratic and due process implications that have come with it.

"I want to thank El Salvador and its president for their collaboration with the United States of America,” Noem said in her statement.

Since taking office, Noem has frequently been front and center in efforts to highlight the immigration crackdown. She took part in immigration enforcement operations, rode horses with Border Patrol agents and was the face of a television campaign warning people in the country illegally to self-deport.

Noem’s Wednesday visit is part of a three-day trip. She'll also travel to Colombia and Mexico.

The Venezuelans were removed from the U.S. this month after Trump invoked the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 and said the U.S. was being invaded by the Tren de Aragua gang. The Alien Enemies Act gives the president wartime powers and allows noncitizens to be deported without the opportunity to go before an immigration or federal court judge.

An appeals court Wednesday kept in place an order barring the administration from deporting more Venezuelan immigrants to El Salvador under the Alien Enemies Act.

A central outstanding question about the deportees’ status is when and how they could ever be released from the prison, called the Terrorism Confinement Center, as they are not serving sentences. They no longer appear in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s online detainee locator and have not appeared before a judge in El Salvador.

The Trump administration refers to them as the “worst of the worst” but hasn't identified who was deported or provided evidence that they’re gang members.

Relatives of some of the deportees have categorically denied any gang affiliation. The Venezuelan government and a group called the Families of Immigrants Committee in Venezuela hired a lawyer to help free those held in El Salvador. A lawyer for the firm, which currently represents about 30 Venezuelans, said they aren't gang members and have no criminal records.

The U.S. government has acknowledged that many do not have such records.

Flights were in the air March 15 when a federal judge issued a verbal order temporarily barring the deportations and ordered planes to return to the U.S.

The Trump administration has argued that the judge’s verbal directions did not count, that only his written order needed to be followed and that it couldn’t apply to flights that had already left the U.S.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that about 261 people were deported on the flights, including 137 under the Alien Enemies Act.

Bukele opened the prison in 2023 as he made the Central American country’s stark, harsh prisons a trademark of his fight against crime. The facility has eight sprawling pavilions and can hold up to 40,000 inmates. Each cell can fit 65 to 70 prisoners.

Prisoners can't have visitors. There are no workshops or educational programs.

El Salvador hasn’t had diplomatic relations with Venezuela since 2019, so the Venezuelans imprisoned there do not have consular support from their government.

Video released by El Salvador’s government after the deportees' arrival showed men exiting airplanes onto an airport tarmac lined by officers in riot gear. The men, who had their hands and ankles shackled, struggled to walk as officers pushed their heads down.

They were later shown at the prison kneeling on the ground as their heads were shaved before they changed into the prison’s all-white uniform — knee-length shorts, T-shirt, socks and rubber clogs — and placed in cells.

For three years, El Salvador has been operating under a state of emergency that suspends fundamental rights as Bukele wages an all-out assault on the country's powerful street gangs. During that time, some 84,000 people have been arrested, accused of gang ties and jailed, often without due process.

Bukele offered to hold U.S. deportees in the prison when U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio visited in February.

At the prison Wednesday, El Salvador Justice Minister Gustavo Villatoro showed Noem a cell holding Salvadorans he said had been there since the prison opened. “No one expects that these people can go back to society and behave,” he said.

Santana reported from Washington. Associated Press writer Marcos Alemán in San Salvador, El Salvador, contributed to this report.