IRS issues warning about emerging tax season scams

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The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is warning taxpayers and tax professionals to be on the lookout for emerging scams and protect sensitive information as the filing season approaches.

The IRS released the warning to taxpayers as it observed National Tax Security Awareness Week in concert with its Security Summit partners. The Security Summit includes 42 state tax agencies as well as other entities connected to the tax community – including tax preparation firms, software developers, payroll and tax financial processors, tax professional organizations and financial institutions. Tax filing season is expected to begin in mid-January 2024.

«Identity thieves are relentless and use a variety of techniques,» said IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel, who added that he would «urge people to be careful with their personal information and be wary of email and text scams.»

«With people anxious to receive the latest information about a refund or other issues during tax season, scammers will regularly pose as the IRS, a state tax agency or others in the tax industry. People should be incredibly wary about unexpected messages that can be an elaborate trap by scam artists, especially during filing season,» Werfel added.

IRS MOVE COULD CARRY HEFTY COST FOR SOME TAXPAYERS

The IRS, state tax agencies and other entities in the tax community are warning taxpayers about scams ahead of tax filing season. (Photographer: Timothy Fadek/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)

The IRS noted that identity thieves will also use recent news events and tragedies as part of an effort to trick taxpayers. 

Another common tax season scam involves identity