It’s tax season once again, and with it comes the rise of tax scams.
Recently, scammers have started texting individuals about a stimulus payment to trick them into revealing their personal information, according to a recent warning from the Better Business Bureau (BBB), a nonprofit that monitors misleading advertisements and consumer complaints across North America. By 2025, the BBB has documented approximately 40 reports concerning this scam.
At first glance, the message seems genuine.
“You qualify for a $1,400 Economic Impact Payment. Kindly provide your accurate personal information. We will either deposit the funds into your bank account or send a paper check within 1 to 2 business days,” claims the scam text, which includes a fake IRS link.
Melanie McGovern, the director of public relations and social media at the BBB, emphasized how deceptive the scam is, as it relies on genuine IRS payments that many taxpayers may have followed in the news. They aim to provoke thoughts like, “Oh, I may have funds due. I should probably check this out,” McGovern added, leading you to click on the deceitful link.
There is indeed some legitimacy to these offers. In December, the IRS announced that it would be issuing automatic payments to individuals who qualified for the Recovery Rebate Credit on their 2021 tax return but did not claim their stimulus check during the pandemic. Eligible individuals could have received a payment up to $1,400. However, these funds were typically sent to the bank account listed on the taxpayer’s return by January 2025, meaning the opportunity has passed.
Here’s what you need to know regarding this scam and what you should do upon receiving such a text.
The Primary Warning Sign That An IRS Stimulus Check Text Is A Scam
The simplest method to identify whether that IRS text is a scam is that it arrives as a text message. The real IRS will never contact you via text regarding any bill, refund, or unexpected income.
As stated by the IRS, “The IRS does not initiate contact with taxpayers via email, text messages, or social media channels to request personal or financial information. This includes requests for PIN numbers, passwords, or similar access information for credit cards, banks, or other financial accounts.”
Simply put, receiving updates about your tax refund through regular mail is typical, but unsolicited communications from the IRS via phone is not. If the IRS needs to reach out, they will generally do so by sending a letter through USPS first.
What To Do If You Receive Dubious IRS Texts
Scams impersonating the IRS are challenging, as they often appear legitimate at first. However, there are immediate steps you can take to protect yourself.
Confirm the source.
In the stimulus check scam, the fraudulent link of https://www.irs.gov-instructions.com was utilized. “They make that URL similar to the real IRS website,” McGovern noted, but remember that authentic IRS websites end in .gov, not .com.
The IRS also sends legitimate notices and letters to tax filers regarding balances, refunds, and inquiries about returns. You can verify the legitimacy of an IRS letter by searching for the type of letter on the official IRS website.
Report any fraud.
If you clicked on a link claiming to be a stimulus check, you may have inadvertently downloaded malware. It’s advisable to use built-in tools like Windows Defender to scan for malware and viruses. If you have shared banking information, contact your bank to check for any unauthorized transactions or security breaches.
Furthermore, if you encounter this kind of text message, report the scam to authorities. Before deleting the suspicious text, take a screenshot and email it as an attachment to phishing@irs.gov.
To assist further, include information like the caller ID, the email or phone number that sent the message, and the date, time, and phone number that received the scam text, as suggested by the IRS.
