Different scams under one name
Tax refund scams come in different forms that call for different responses. Impersonation scams use texts, emails, or calls claiming to be the IRS or a state tax department and offering a refund in exchange for personal or bank information; the IRS generally makes first contact by mail, not by text or social media. Identity theft refund fraud happens when someone files a return in your name to claim a refund, which you usually discover when your own return is rejected or a notice arrives. Preparer fraud involves someone who inflates deductions, changes the deposit account, or diverts part of the refund. Each one leads to a different agency and a different fix.
Paperwork for each version
For identity theft, respond to any IRS notice using the contact details in the notice itself, and file an identity theft affidavit with the IRS if the notice instructs you to or if your return was rejected as a duplicate. The IRS offers an Identity Protection PIN program that can help prevent future misuse of your number. For impersonation, report the message to the IRS and the Federal Trade Commission, and if you shared financial information, contact your bank. For a preparer problem, gather the return as filed, your copy if it differs, bank records showing where the refund went, and any engagement agreement. The IRS has a process for reporting preparer misconduct, and the return itself may need to be corrected.
When it becomes a legal matter
Many tax refund scam problems are resolved through the IRS identity theft process, though it can be slow. A lawyer becomes more useful when the IRS is assessing tax or penalties on a return you did not file or did not approve, when a preparer kept money that was yours, or when you are being questioned about a return that went out under your name. In that last situation, be careful about statements, because the IRS and prosecutors look closely at who knew what. Our review starts with the notices, the returns as filed, and the payment trail. We then decide whether this is mainly an IRS correction, a civil claim, a criminal referral, or some combination.
