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.
Luis F. Rosa, certified financial planner and enrolled agent, is the founder of Pasadena, California-based financial planning firm Build a Better Financial Future.
He is host of the "On My Way to Wealth" podcast, co-founder of the BlatinX (BLX) Internship Program and co-founder of the SER Latino Advisor Summit. Among his many industry accolades, Rosa has been named to Financial Planning's list of people who will transform wealth management, to the InvestmentNews 40 Under 40 list, to Financial Advisor magazine's 10 Young Advisors to Watch, and four times to the Investopedia Top 100 Financial Advisors list. In 2023 NerdWallet named him one of eight Hispanic personal finance influencers to follow for money advice.
Rosa came to the U.S. at age 11 from the Dominican Republic. Growing up in New York City, Rosa noticed the lack of financial literacy in his community and was inspired by his parents to work hard and pursue an education. Rosa uses his platform to help spread financial literacy via media outreach as well as encourage younger and diverse planners to join and thrive in the industry.
James Gerber is the CFO of SimSpace Corp. and a former financial regulator at the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp.
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“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.
