Tax season always brings a spike in scams. This year is no exception. IRS impersonation remains one of the most common and financially damaging tactics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nearly 1 in 4 Americans (23%) say they or someone they know has lost money to a tax scam, according to McAfee’s 2025 tax season survey. During Fiscal Year 2024, the IRS Criminal Investigation identified more than 9.1 billion dollars in fraud related to tax and financial crimes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In McAfee’s 2025 tax season survey, nearly half of respondents reported encountering tax-related scam messages. Industry research has reported a dramatic increase in phishing emails leveraging generative AI tools, with some reports showing an increase of more than 1,200 percent year over year. The result is simple: scam emails look more professional and more convincing than ever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The IRS does not initiate contact with taxpayers by email, text message, or social media. Initial contact is typically made through official U.S. Mail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you receive an unsolicited email, text message, or social media message claiming to be from the IRS, treat it as a scam. Verify by going directly to IRS.gov or calling the official IRS number.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You receive an email stating that you are owed a refund. The message looks official. It may include official-looking logos, formal language, and a deadline. It asks you to click a link to verify your identity or claim your refund.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
AI-Generated Email Example:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
From: IRS Tax Services refunds@irs-gov.com<\/a> Subject: Action Required: Your $1,847 Federal Refund is Ready<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Dear Taxpayer,<\/p>\n\n\n\n Our records indicate that you are eligible for a federal tax refund of $1,847.00. To process this refund, we need you to verify your identity through our secure portal.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Click here to claim your refund: [malicious link]<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Failure to respond may delay your refund. This offer expires in 48 hours.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Internal Revenue Service<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n The email may appear professional and free of obvious grammatical errors. Industry reporting indicates that scammers are increasingly leveraging generative AI tools to produce more polished content. Professionalism is part of the deception.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Scammers are exploiting ongoing conversations about student loan relief. They may claim they can secure immediate loan forgiveness for a fee. Some pose as affiliates of the Department of Education.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Red flags include:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Legitimate federal student loan programs do not charge upfront fees. Official information is available at StudentAid.gov.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Scammers place calls to individuals claiming to be IRS agents. The caller states that back taxes are owed and threatens arrest, deportation, or license suspension unless immediate payment is made. Payment is often requested through gift cards, wire transfers, or cryptocurrency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Caller ID may display “IRS” or a Washington, D.C. area code. Scammers can falsify caller ID information through a tactic known as spoofing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Pause before clicking links in any unsolicited message about taxes, refunds, or student loans. Remember the core rule: the IRS does not initiate contact with taxpayers by email, text message, or social media. Initial contact is typically made through official U.S. Mail. Any unexpected message claiming to be from the IRS through email, text, or social platforms should be treated as a scam, no matter how professional it looks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you receive an unexpected message about taxes, do not use the contact information provided in that message. Instead, go directly to IRS.gov or call the official IRS number at 1-800-829-1040. For university-related tax matters, contact UW System Administration Human Resources or your campus HR office through official channels<\/p>\n\n\n\n Never provide:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n These scams depend on urgency. The message pressures you to act immediately.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Slow down. Verify independently. If the IRS needs to reach you, initial contact is typically by mail.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n If something feels questionable, verify through official channels. It is better to confirm than to recover from identity theft or financial loss.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Stay safe during this tax season.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Tax season always brings a spike in scams. This year is no exception. IRS impersonation remains one of the most common and financially damaging tactics. Nearly 1 in 4 Americans […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6587,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33,21,27,25,32],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-397","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-faculty-staff-awareness","category-phishing","category-scam-awareness","category-social-engineering","category-student-awareness"],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-22 23:51:27","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/information-security\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/397","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/information-security\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/information-security\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/information-security\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6587"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/information-security\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=397"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/information-security\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/397\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":681,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/information-security\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/397\/revisions\/681"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/information-security\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=397"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/information-security\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=397"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/information-security\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=397"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Student Loan Forgiveness Scams<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Aggressive Phone Scams<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Protective Steps<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Reporting<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Bottom Line<\/h3>\n\n\n\n