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.
Allyson is the founder of Women Who Tech, which brings together 10,000+ diverse engineers, entrepreneurs, startup founders, investors, and industry leaders who are transforming the world and inspiring change through technology. As founder, she has produced several Women Who Tech TeleSummits packed with the most inspiring tech changemakers, disruptors, and startup entrepreneurs, ranging from Arianna Huffington, founder of Huffington Post, to Rashmi Sinha, co-founder of SlideShare, acquired by LinkedIn.
In 2015, Allyson launched the Women Startup Challenge in partnership with Craig Newmark, founder of craigslist, the Craig Newmark Philanthropic Fund, and Craig Newmark Foundation, to help fund and showcase women-led startups focused on solving problems for people, businesses, and the planet. Since its inception, the Women Startup Challenge has launched four pitch competitions across the U.S. and one in Europe, with 1700+ applications and over $1 million raised in cash and prizes for women-led ventures.
Allyson is also the cofounder of Rad Campaign, one of the top web agencies that has helped hundreds of organizations, advocacy campaigns, and philanthropists build hard-hitting campaigns, compelling websites, and data visualizations focused on increasing advocacy, donations, and community engagement. Her campaigns have been recognized with several prestigious web awards and featured on several top media networks ranging from CNN to NPR to BuzzFeed, and the Daily Show with Jon Stewart.
Allyson has been named one of the “Most Influential Women in Tech” by Fast Company, a “Tech Titan” by the Washingtonian, and “one of the top 30 women entrepreneurs to follow on Twitter” by Forbes for her leadership roles in technology.
Craig Newmark is Web pioneer, philanthropist, and leading advocate on behalf of trustworthy journalism, voting rights, veterans and military families, and other civic causes. In 2017, he became a founding funder and executive committee member of the News Integrity Initiative, administered by the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism, which seeks to advance news literacy and increase trust in journalism.
In 2016, he created the Craig Newmark Foundation to promote investment in organizations that effectively serve their communities and drive broad civic engagement at the grassroots level. Amid growing concerns about the proliferation of “fake news” in the course of the presidential campaign, one of the foundation’s first donations went to the Poynter Institute to create the Craig Newmark Chair in Journalism Ethics. Newmark is widely credited for his leadership in promoting “news we can trust.”
After working at IBM as an engineer for nearly twenty years, Craig became a consultant to major firms like Charles Schwab, and in 1995 as the Internet was starting to take-off, he began curating a list of San Francisco arts and technology events he personally emailed to friends and colleagues. People were soon calling it "Craig's List,” and when Craig turned it into a company, he monetized it only minimally, opting for a business model that prioritized "doing well by doing good." Today more than 5 billion ads have been posted on the site, the vast majority for free. While Craig remains chairman of craigslist, he has not been involved in management since 2000. He continues to serve as a customer service rep so that he can stay connected to the community of craigslist users.
In 2012, Craig was inducted into the Internet Hall of Fame. He was named “Nerd-in-Residence” by the Department of Veterans Affairs Center for Innovation in 2013. In 2015, craigslist received an award from the FBI in recognition of its undisclosed cooperation with the Bureau in combatting human trafficking.
Craig serves on the board of directors of a range of nonprofits including: journalism organizations (Center for Public Integrity, Columbia Journalism Review, Poynter Foundation, Sunlight Foundation); veterans organizations (Blue Star Families, Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, Vets In Tech); women’s groups (Girls Who Code, Women in Public Service Project) and consumer organizations (Consumers Union/Consumer Reports). In addition, he serves on the advisory boards of nearly twenty other nonprofit organizations including, DonorsChoose, EFF, New America Foundation, Voto Latino, Wikimedia Foundation, Women Who Tech, and many others.
Born in Morristown, New Jersey in 1952, Craig earned degrees in computer science from Case Western Reserve University. He lives in San Francisco and enjoys bird- and squirrel-watching, science fiction, TV, and Dad jokes.
Craig communicates regularly through his own blog at craigconnects.org and through Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Medium, and HuffPost. He also travels the country speaking about issues and appearing on behalf of organizations he supports.
“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.
