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.
Dax Craig is the co-founder, president, and chief executive officer of Valen Analytics, an advanced data and analytics provider for the property and casualty insurance industry. Valen leverages its large consortium data assets to help carriers price insurance policies more accurately and achieve lower loss ratios.Prior to founding Valen in 2004, Dax was founder and CEO of Xertex Technologies, a leading provider of antennas for Wi-Fi, in-building wireless, and telematics. He led the progress of the company from a concept he developed as an MBA student at the University of Colorado to its eventual acquisition by Centurion Wireless, now part of Laird plc. At the time of Xertex’s acquisition, Centurion was a global leader in the wireless antenna industry with over $150 million in annual revenue, seven factories, locations in five countries and over 1,500 employees.Dax proceeded to be vice president of global business development at Centurion, where he was directly responsible for global business development including sales, market definition, market segmentation, market research, strategic planning and market development.Believing in the importance of community involvement, Dax founded the Monticello Foundation, an organization of young professionals that raised money for Denver area children’s charities. He also founded Stay Tuned Colorado, a non-partisan organization that engaged young professionals to become more involved in the process of selecting national political leaders.He currently serves on the executive advisory board of the University of Tulsa’s College of Business and is a member of the Young Presidents Organization. Most recently, Dax was selected as a board member to the National Sports Center for the Disabled. Previously, he has served on the board of several community organizations including the Denver Opera and the Metro Denver Sports Commission.Dax graduated from the University of Tulsa with a bachelor’s degree in business administration and marketing. He earned his MBA in finance from the University of Colorado at Boulder.
Lauren Freedman is senior vice president of digital strategy at Astound Commerc
Kevin Murphy is president of the ISACA Scottish chapter and vice president of ISC2 (Scotland) and an internationally award-winning cyber security consultant. His previous cyber security experience includes eight years as a police officer, and then leading member of KPMG’s award winning cyber security team. Murphy has authored two books on training and development and now works for a global bank as a cyber security, risk and privacy specialist
“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.
