How to Spot an IRS Scam Call, Email or Letter
Neither the IRS nor its debt collectors will threaten to arrest you. Here is how to tell a real contact from a fake one, and where to report it.
The phone rings, and the caller says you owe the IRS, the police are on the way, and you must pay in the next hour. Your heart pounds. Take a breath, because that fear is the tell. The IRS says impersonators demand payment now and threaten arrest or deportation.
How to tell an IRS scam call in the first minute
The pressure is the proof. The FTC says scammers pretend to be from government agencies like the FTC, the Social Security Administration, and the IRS. Then they tell you that if you do not pay or hand over personal information, something bad will happen.
Here is what that sounds like on the phone:
- A threat to arrest you or have you prosecuted. The FBI says criminals who pose as government employees threaten arrest or prosecution unless you pay.
- A demand that you pay right now.
- A threat to deport you.
The FTC says neither the IRS nor its debt collectors will threaten to arrest you. So a caller who does that has told you who they are. Hang up. If you want to read more about this kind of call, see our page on scam tax calls.
One more thing about robocalls. The FTC says if the call is a robocall, do not press any numbers, because pressing numbers could lead to more calls.
Why caller ID and employee ID numbers prove nothing
Maybe the caller ID really did say IRS. Maybe the caller read out an employee ID number. Neither one means anything.
The FTC says caller ID can be faked, so it could be anyone calling from anywhere in the world. The name on your screen is a costume, not a credential.
The FTC also says scammers might give you their employee ID number to sound official. A real badge number would not prove anything over the phone anyway. You have no way to check it while a stranger is yelling at you.
Email and text IRS scams
The FTC says a government impersonation scam often starts with a call, email, text, or social media message. So the same scam arrives in your inbox too.
The FTC's page says the IRS will never email, text, or message you on social media with threats or demands that you pay. If you get a message like that, it is not the IRS.
The IRS says email and text impersonators want you to send them money. It also says opening links and attachments may harm your computer. Do not click. The IRS warns that odd or misspelled web links can take you to harmful sites instead of IRS.gov. A link that looks almost right is a trap.
The FTC says government agencies will never call, email, text, or message you on social media to ask for money or personal information. That rule covers every channel. No real agency message asks for your Social Security number or a payment.
IRS scam letters in the mail
Paper feels more official than a phone call.
The IRS says scammers send you a tax bill to trick you into paying them.
The IRS also says impersonation mail can mislead you about an unclaimed refund. A letter promising money you never expected is the same scam wearing a friendlier face.
If a letter about taxes or a refund has you unsure, our page on IRS scam mail goes deeper on what to check.
One more paper trick. The FTC says a private debt collector working for the IRS will never ask you to pay over the phone. So a private debt collector who asks you to pay over the phone is not one working for the IRS.
Who these scammers target
You are not being singled out because of anything you did. But some people get more of these calls than others.
The IRS says scammers target people over age 65 or nearing retirement for personal or financial information or money. If that is you or someone in your family, expect these calls and know the tells ahead of time.
The IRS also says scammers want to help you file casualty loss claims or get big tax refunds after a disaster. So after a storm, fire or flood, watch for strangers offering tax help that arrives out of nowhere.
The FTC says these scammers pretend to be from other agencies too. A caller who says they are from the Social Security Administration can use the same script. See our page on scam social security for that version.
What if you already paid or gave information
It happens fast, and the pressure is built to make it happen fast. You are not the first person to send money to a caller who sounded official.
If you gave a card number or bank details, call your bank or card company and tell them what happened.
Where to report an IRS scam
It does not promise you anything back.
The FTC says to report IRS scammers to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration at tigta.gov.
The FTC's guide also says to report a government impersonation scam to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov or to your state attorney general.
If the scam involved someone lying about taxes to take money, our page on how to report tax fraud explains that route.
If you really do owe the IRS
Owing back taxes does not make the scary call real. Plenty of people owe the IRS and still get scam calls.
Here is the difference. The FTC says the IRS will never email, text, or message you on social media with threats or demands that you pay. The FTC says neither the IRS nor its debt collectors will threaten to arrest you. The FTC says a private debt collector working for the IRS will never ask you to pay over the phone.
So if you think you might owe, do not ask the caller. Look up IRS.gov yourself and call the number you find there, not the number the caller gave you. The real IRS will still be there after you hang up on the fake one.