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.
Richard McKenney is president and chief executive officer for Unum Group, one of the world’s leading providers of workplace financial protection benefits. He became president in April 2015 and assumed the role of CEO in May of the same year.
McKenney served as executive vice president, chief financial officer for Unum Group from 2009 to 2015, where he was responsible for overall financial management of the company, including financial reporting, treasury and capital management, strategic planning and mergers and acquisitions, investments, financial planning, investor relations, and enterprise risk management. He also chaired Unum’s Operating Committee, which oversees the company’s business operations throughout the U.S. and U.K.
Prior to joining Unum in 2009, McKenney was executive vice president and chief financial officer of Sun Life Financial, an international financial services company based in Toronto.
McKenney graduated summa cum laude from Tufts University with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering.
Philippa Lawrence is a global finance and accounting leader and is currently vice president and chief accounting officer at Workday. Prior to that, she held controller roles at Google, Brocade, Motorola, and Katerra.
The head of a federal watchdog agency had some direct experience with the shortcomings of one of the coronavirus stimulus programs — a check from the IRS made out to his late mother.
“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.
