Tim’s Tax News on the Tenth – June 2020
Timothy M. Hughes • June 10, 2020
IRS SEES COVID-19 FRAUD SCHEMES EMERGE
The IRS on June 8, 2020, warned taxpayers to guard against tax fraud and other related financial scams related to COVID-19. In the last few months, the IRS Criminal Investigation division (“CI”) has seen a variety of Economic Impact Payment (“EIP”) scams and other financial schemes arise looking to take advantage of unsuspecting taxpayers. CI continues to work with law enforcement agencies both domestically and abroad to investigate the criminals perpetrating these crimes.
Criminals are using the COVID-19 EIPs as cover for schemes to steal personal information and money. Scams related to COVID-19 are not just limited to stealing EIPs from taxpayers. CI has already seen scams related to the organized selling of fake at-home test kits, offers to sell fake cures, vaccines, pills, and advice on unproven treatments for COVID-19. Other scams purport to sell large quantities of medical supplies through the creation of fake shops, websites, social media accounts, and email addresses where the criminal fails to deliver promised supplies after receiving taxpayers’ funds.
Some of the COVID-19 related scams involve setting up fake charities and then soliciting donations for individuals, groups, and areas affected by the disease. Some criminals are offering opportunities to invest early in companies working on a vaccine for the disease promising that the “company” will dramatically increase in value as a result. These promotions are often styled as “research reports,” make predictions of a specific “target price,” and relate to microcap stocks, or low-priced stocks issued by the smallest of companies with limited publicly available information.
The CI noted it has seen a tremendous increase in phishing schemes utilizing emails, letters, texts, and links. These phishing schemes are using keywords such as “Corona Virus,” “COVID-19”, and “Stimulus” in varying ways. These schemes are blasted to large numbers of people in an effort to get personal or financial information including but not limited to account numbers and passwords. Most of these new schemes are actively playing on the fear and unknown of the virus and taxpayers’ need for the stimulus payments.
If you would like more details, please do not hesitate to call our office. Our office has been successful in helping taxpayers with IRS and IDOR collection problems for over 28 years. If you have a tax or debt problem, please contact me at 847-705-9698 or thughes@lavellelaw.com and find out how we can help you.
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Lavelle Law, Ltd. is registered with the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation as an approved continuing education provider for CPE for CPAs and Enrolled Agents. If your organization is seeking CPE courses in the area of Business Law, Innocent Spouse Relief, IRS Collections, Tax Scams (including ID Theft), or other areas in tax law that can be taught at your office, please contact me at thughes@lavellelaw.com.
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