Taxpayer Warning: CARES Act Recovery Payment Scams

With the IRS expected to distribute CARES Act recovery payments in the next few weeks, taxpayers should be aware of possible scams to obtain their personal or financial information. A criminal claiming to be from the IRS could contact a taxpayer by phone, text, email, social media or through in-person visits in an attempt to trick them into providing his or her personal or financial information—or even a tax payment—in order to receive a recovery payment.

The IRS has stated they will distribute the recovery payments using a taxpayer’s direct deposit information on file, if any, or by mailing the taxpayer a check. Taxpayers do not have to provide the IRS with any information in order to receive the payment.

We want to remind our clients and friends that the IRS will never initiate contact with taxpayers by email, text messages, social media or in-person visit to request personal or financial information. The IRS usually initiates contact through regular mail via the U.S. Postal Service.

If you receive one of these calls, emails, texts, social media messages or other contacts, please visit the IRS website for instructions on how to report the incident. Contact your Weaver tax professional with questions about these types of scams or any other tax matter.

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