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.
Tom Hutton is managing partner for XL Innovate, the venture capital arm of XL Catlin. After working as a Consultant at McKinsey and Company, Tom served for ten years as the first CEO of Risk Management Solutions, a pioneer and global leader in providing risk modeling software, data and analytic services related to catastrophic risks to the insurance industry. His insurance career continued as CEO of White Mountains Re and board director of several insurance and reinsurance companies including XL Group, Safeco, Montpelier Re, Centre Cat, and Palomar Specialty.
In 2011, Tom founded New Energy Risk in partnership with XL Group. Tom served as CEO until the founding of XL Innovate in 2015, and currently serves as chairman. New Energy Risk addresses opportunities to apply insurance to support the development and financing of clean technology and renewable energy solutions and infrastructure, through an innovative form of insured technology performance.
Tom currently serves as a board director at several private and venture-backed companies including SoFi, a leading fintech company redefining consumer lending and financial services; Lemonade, a revolutionary personal lines insurance carrier; and Slice Labs, a provider of on-demand insurance in the sharing economy. Tom’s investments at XL Innovate also include Embroker, a tech driven commercial distribution company that is radically improving how mid-sized businesses buy and manage insurance coverage. Tom earned his BA in Economics and MS in Mechanical Engineering from Stanford University and his MBA from Harvard Business School. Tom is involved in several non-profit organizations with an emphasis on secondary school education and environmental issues. He recently served for several years as the President of Trustees at Phillips Exeter Academy, in New Hampshire.
Jim Brandenburg, CPA, MST, is a tax partner at Sikich LLP, a professional services firm. Jim has more than 35 years of experience and knowledge in corporate and partnership tax law, mergers and acquisitions, and tax legislation. He earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting and a master’s degree in taxation from the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee.
Mary Chaput is an expert on compliance with PHI privacy and security regulations and Chief Financial Officer of Clearwater Compliance.
“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.
