Northwest Iowa — The United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Iowa and the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigations are warning taxpayers to be on the lookout for scam artists trying to use the COVID-19 economic impact payments as cover for schemes to steal personal information and money.
They say they made the announcement in an effort to prevent taxpayers from falling victim to criminals using the recently-approved economic impact payments as an opportunity to commit a crime.
They tell us that automatic COVID-19 economic impact payments started being deposited into taxpayers’ accounts on April 11. For most Americans, this will be a direct deposit into your bank account. For those who don’t have bank accounts, retirees, or other groups who have traditionally received tax refunds via paper check, they will receive their economic impact payment in this manner as well. They tell us that scammers may try to get you to sign over your check to them or use this as an opportunity to get you to “verify” your filing information in order to receive your money, and then use your personal information at a later date to file false tax returns in an identity theft scheme. Because of this, everyone receiving a COVID-19 related economic impact payment from the government is at risk.
They remind us that the IRS will not call and ask you to verify your payment details. They say don’t give out your bank account or any other account information – even if someone claims it’s necessary to get your check. It’s a scam.
They also tell us that if you receive texts or emails claiming that you can get your money faster by sending personal information or clicking on links, you should delete them. They say don’t click on any links in those emails or texts.
Reports are also swirling about bogus checks. If you receive a check that requires that you verify the check online or by calling a number, they tell us it’s a fraud.
For more information on IRS coronavirus scams, click here. You can always report scams to the IRS on the website at https://www.irs.gov/privacy-disclosure/report-phishing.
