The Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigation Division issued a warning Thursday about a new wave of COVID-19 scams tied to the latest round of stimulus payments, especially targeting taxpayers in the District of Columbia.
The warning comes amid heightened tension in Washington after a riot last week at the Capitol that left five people dead and scores of people injured and led to an unprecedented second impeachment of President Trump on Wednesday. Washington is also bracing for possible protests next week around the time of the inauguration of President-elect Biden. National Guard troops have amassed at the Capitol to protect it.
The new COVID-19 scams echo some of the same schemes seen last year when the previous round of Economic Impact Payments was sent to taxpayers. However, in the last several months, the IRS’s CI unit said it has seen a variety of EIP scams and other financial schemes with the goal of stealing money and personal information from taxpayers. Criminals are taking advantage of the second EIP round, along with the impending tax-filing season, to trick honest taxpayers out of their money.
Andrew Hogan is a senior analyst serving customer experience professionals. He focuses on experience design — specifically user interface (UI) and user experience (UX) design for websites, apps, messaging, and digital-physical interactions. He researches the future of experience design, identifies trends and patterns, analyzes best practices, and examines which experience design services firms and agencies are best suited to help and how.
Previous Work Experience
Prior to joining Forrester, Andrew was associate director of digital strategy at agency R2C Group, working with clients on site, social, CRM, and paid acquisition efforts.
Before R2C Group, Andrew was a senior strategist at digital and innovation agency T3. There, he guided strategy on apps, social efforts, CRM programs, and site and product prototypes. He also led the agency’s research into mobile's effect on consumer expectations and its connection to customer experience.
Education
Andrew holds a BBA in marketing from Texas State University.
Matt Loeb is chief executive officer with the ISACA.
Cheryl Ajluni is the IoT solutions lead at Keysight Technologies. Prior to that, she worked as a technical editor and editor-in-chief for magazines such as Electronic Design and Wireless Systems Design, and as an engineer in various positions in the aerospace industry. Cheryl is a patented engineer with a B.Sc. in physics and mathematics from the U.C. Davis and has co-authored multiple books on topics such as RF circuit design and wireless systems design.
“IRS-CI wants to make sure all residents of the District are aware of the potential scams to help prevent them from becoming victimized,” said Kelly R. Jackson, special agent in charge of IRS-CI's Washington, D.C., Field Office, in a statement. “Please stay vigilant of potential scammers looking to steal your personal information and your money.”
Some of the common COVID-19 scams seen by IRS-CI agents include:
- Text messages asking taxpayers to disclose bank account information under the guise of receiving the $1,200 EIPs;
- Phishing scams using email, letters and social media messages with key words such as “coronavirus,” “COVID-19” and “stimulus” in different ways — these communications are sent to large numbers of people and aim to access personally identifying information and financial account information (including account numbers and passwords);
- The organized and unofficial sale of fake at-home COVID-19 test kits (along with offers to sell fake cures, vaccines, pills and professional medical advice regarding unproven COVID-19 treatments);
- Fake donation requests for individuals, groups and areas heavily affected by COVID-19;
- Bogus opportunities to invest in companies developing COVID-19 vaccines while promising that the “company” will dramatically increase in value as a result.
Taxpayers who get unsolicited emails or social media attempts to gather information that appear to be from either the IRS or an organization closely linked to the IRS should forward the message to phishing@irs.gov. The IRS is encouraging them not to communicate with potential scammers online or over the phone.
