Dirty Dozen 2022: Text Message Scams

          Criminals never take a break, so we must always be vigilant and stay aware of their changing tactics. Each year the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) releases a Dirty Dozen list of the top 12 scams and abusive tax arrangements that taxpayers should be aware of and avoid. This post will look at text message scams.

          These are messages sent to phones that claim to be from the IRS. Many of them reference COVID-19 or stimulus payments. They will also contain links to fake websites in the goal of stealing your personal information or loading a virus.

          Always remember that the IRS will never send a surprise text to discuss tax matters, and they never send messages on social media. As a rule, it is best to not open attachments or links in suspicious or unexpected text messages. Make sure to independently verify that the source is legitimate.

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