With the tax filing season well underway, it’ll come as no surprise that copycat versions of the IRS website are aplenty, and scammers are looking to lure would-be victims into parting with their personal and/or financial data through other tax-related scams, too. Read on to watch out for tax scams in 2023. 

Popular Tax Scams 2023

1. Fake IRS websites 

We’ve recently detected lots of copycat versions of the IRS website looking to trick people into inputting their valuable personal and financial information. Although these fake websites often look the part, they’re all scammer controlled, and any information entered onto them will be sent directly to the scammers. Below are a few examples: 

As you can see from the screenshots, the scammers are after lots of very valuable personal information — even the maiden names of the victims’ mothers! 

Fake IRS websites like the ones in the screenshots above are commonly sent out via text message and email. Never click on links from unknown sources. The real IRS website is www.irs.gov, and any other site claiming to be it is fake. 

2. ERC-related scams 

The US government established the Employee Retention Credit (ERC) to give businesses that were shut down throughout the pandemic or suffered considerable declines in gross receipts a refundable tax credit. It is only available to employers and not employees. However, that hasn’t stopped the scammers from trying to trick non-business owners with ERC-related scams. Below is an example. 

“You or your employee can get up to $26k” — unfortunately, it’s simply not true. The scammers are just looking to trick people into clicking the link inside the email, which will take them to a fake, copycat version of the Travis Watkins website. The fake website is in no way related to the legitimate company that it is imitating (Travis W. Watkins Tax Resolution & Accounting Firm). The fake website is simply impersonating a trusted company while trying to get people to inadvertently part with their personal information.  

The real Travis Watkins website is www.traviswatkins.com. 

The scammers are also looking to trick businesses with ERC-related scams, too. See the screenshot below. 

Once again, they’re hoping to lead people onto their phishing website and steal people’s data. Don’t fall for it! 

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