Tax Scams Are Increasing as Filing Season Gets Underway

Each tax filing season brings a predictable rise in fraud, but the current filing period shows how much tax scams have evolved. As taxpayers rely more on digital filing, text notifications, and rapid refund processing, scammers are embedding themselves into what looks like normal tax activity.

Today’s scams rarely rely on extreme threats or obvious red flags. Instead, they imitate routine filing season interactions. Refund updates, verification requests, payroll changes. The familiarity is what makes them effective.

For taxpayers, the result can be identity theft or lost refunds. For professionals and businesses, the consequences often appear later as delayed filings, audits, payroll disruptions, and extended compliance cleanup.

Key takeaways

• Filing season creates ideal conditions for tax fraud due to urgency and uncertainty

• Refund confirmation messages remain the most common entry point for scams

• Social media tax advice is increasingly triggering improper filings

• Payroll and employee tax data make businesses frequent targets

• Prevention depends on systems and timing, not just awareness

Why filing season creates ideal conditions for tax scams

Tax scams surge during filing season for structural reasons, not coincidence.

During this period:

• Taxpayers expect communication from the IRS, states, employers, and preparers

• Refund timelines vary and are not always predictable

• Tax rules and credits change year to year

• Many filers feel pressure to act quickly to avoid delays

Scammers exploit this environment by blending into expected workflows. A message saying a refund is approved or delayed aligns with what taxpayers already anticipate. When these messages include personal details pulled from prior data breaches, they appear even more legitimate.

The result is not panic-driven fraud but routine-looking fraud that is harder to detect.

The most common tax scams appearing right now

Refund confirmation texts and emails

One of the fastest-growing scams involves fake IRS or state refund notifications sent by text or email. These messages often claim a refund is approved or delayed and require immediate verification through a link.

Once clicked, the link leads to a spoofed website designed to collect Social Security numbers, banking information, or login credentials. In some cases, refunds are redirected to criminal accounts.

IRS impersonation payment demands

Scammers posing as IRS agents continue to call taxpayers and business owners demanding immediate payment for alleged tax debts. These calls often use fear tactics, including threats of liens, arrests, or license suspension.

Legitimate tax authorities do not demand payment through gift cards, wire transfers, or cryptocurrency. Any request using those methods is a scam.

Ghost tax preparers

A ghost preparer is an individual who prepares a tax return but refuses to sign it or include a preparer tax identification number. These preparers often promise unusually large refunds and may invent deductions or credits.

When the IRS audits the return, the taxpayer is fully responsible even if the preparer disappears.

Social media tax advice scams

Short-form videos and posts claiming to reveal tax loopholes or secret credits are driving a new wave of improper filings. Many of these suggestions involve misusing credits, falsely claiming business losses, or manipulating payroll data.

Following this advice can result in delayed refunds, audits, penalties, and interest.

Fake charities and disaster relief scams

Fraudsters often create fake charities during times of heightened giving. They solicit donations online and then provide false documentation for tax deductions that do not exist.

How tax scams surface inside firms and businesses

For professionals and employers, tax scams rarely end with the initial fraud. They show up downstream.

Common secondary impacts include:

• IRS notices related to fraudulent filings

• Refund delays tied to identity verification

• Amended returns and extended correspondence

• Payroll disruptions or compromised employee data

• Client disputes over responsibility and remediation

These issues consume time and resources long after filing season activity peaks. In many cases, firms only realize a pattern exists after multiple clients or employees are affected.

The challenge is not recognizing scams in hindsight. It is identifying them early enough to prevent repeat exposure.

What prevention actually looks like during filing season

Effective prevention is operational, not informational. It requires turning awareness into repeatable processes.

For taxpayers, early filing reduces the window for identity theft. For firms and businesses, prevention typically involves:

• Clear verification procedures for payroll and data change requests

• Standardized client communication about what the IRS will and will not do

• Internal escalation paths for suspicious tax-related activity

• Ongoing visibility into emerging filing season risks

Tracking this information manually across IRS releases, news outlets, and enforcement notices is difficult during peak season. That fragmentation is where gaps form.

Centralized tax intelligence helps close those gaps. When professionals can see filing season developments, scam trends, and compliance risks in one place, they are better equipped to act before problems escalate.

Bizora was designed to support this operational layer. By consolidating verified tax updates and real-time filing season risks, Bizora helps firms and businesses stay ahead of issues instead of responding after damage occurs.

You can give Bizora a try today! And no, you don't have to commit just yet. Start your 7-days free trial with no credit card commitment.

Conclusion

Tax scams are not becoming more aggressive. They are becoming more familiar. The most effective schemes now resemble routine filing season interactions, which is why they continue to succeed.

Filing season will always attract fraud. The difference lies in whether taxpayers and professionals are prepared to recognize patterns early and respond systematically rather than reactively.

Frequently asked questions

Does the IRS send text messages about refunds?

Unexpected refund texts or emails requesting personal or financial information should be treated with caution. Refund status should be verified through official IRS tools.

What should someone do if they clicked a suspicious link?

They should immediately secure accounts, change passwords, contact their bank, and monitor for unusual activity.

Why are businesses targeted during tax season?

Payroll data and employee tax information are valuable and often easier to exploit during periods of increased administrative activity.

Are unusually large refunds always a sign of fraud?

Not always, but guarantees of large refunds without documentation are a common warning sign.

Why do tax scams return every year?

Filing season creates predictable timing, urgency, and data flow that scammers repeatedly exploit.