A message about your taxes or a refund

The IRS doesn’t call to tell you about a refund. It texts or emails only people who signed up, and never to ask for personal or financial information or payment. What you’re owed, and what you owe, is in your account at IRS.gov.

If it’s happening now

You hung up or deleted it and gave them nothing. You’re done. They may call back from another number. Same move.

It’s a text, email, or social media message. Don’t tap the link, scan the code, or reply. Type IRS.gov yourself. Where’s My Refund shows your refund, and your online account shows any balance. Forward a text to 7726, then delete it.

Someone’s on the phone about your taxes. Write down the number, then hang up. Caller ID can say “IRS” and still be a scammer. Check your balance on IRS.gov. Report the call to the Treasury Inspector General’s hotline: 800-366-4484.

The caller says they’re a collection agency working for the IRS. That can be real, but only after two letters: an IRS notice CP40 naming the agency, then the agency’s own letter. Hang up and call the agency at the number on IRS.gov’s list. No letters? It isn’t the agency. Treat it as the call above.

You’re at a store or a Bitcoin ATM with them on the line. Hang up before you buy or send anything. The IRS never asks for or accepts gift cards.

A courier is coming for your cash, gold, or card. Don’t hand anything over. Call 911.

Someone at your door says they’re from the IRS. Unannounced visits are rare, and the IRS generally sends a letter first. Don’t hand anything over until you’ve checked with the IRS at 800-829-1040. If you feel unsafe, call 911.

A letter came in the mail. Find the notice number (it starts with CP or LTR) in the right-hand corner and look it up on IRS.gov’s notice search. If it isn’t there, or something looks off, call the IRS at 800-829-1040, not a number printed on the letter.

They’re on your computer. Hold the power button until it shuts off, then use another device. Full steps.

What to say

• I'm going to hang up and check my account on IRS.gov myself.

• I'll call the agency back at the number IRS.gov lists.

• I got a letter that says it's from the IRS. The notice number in the corner is ___. Can you tell me if you sent it, and what my account shows?

• Someone pretending to be the IRS got me to pay them. I need to report fraud and stop or reverse the payment. Can I get a case number?

• Can you send me that decision in writing?

If something already left your hands

You paid them

Stop answering them. Call your bank, or the company you paid through, at the number on your card or in its app. Say it was a scam, ask them to stop or reverse the payment, and write down the case number.

• Card: dispute the charge.
• Bank transfer, wire, or Zelle: ask for a recall on that call, and file at ic3.gov at the same time.
• Gift cards: call the number on the back of the card. Keep the receipts.
• Bitcoin ATM or crypto: file at ic3.gov with the receipts and the address they sent.
• Payment app or cash: steps on those pages.

If you sent it by Zelle, wire, payment app, gift card, crypto, or cash, the bank or company may treat it as authorized, and those often aren’t refunded. Ask anyway. If they say no, ask for the decision in writing, then file a complaint at consumerfinance.gov/complaint.

If you typed a password into their site, change it from a device you trust. Keep the texts, numbers, and receipts (how). Report it at ReportFraud.ftc.gov and to the Treasury Inspector General, which handles IRS impersonation:

Anyone who offers to get the money back for a fee, including someone claiming to be the IRS, the FBI, or a lawyer, is a second scam. Someone offers to get my money back.

If you’re 60 or older, or helping someone who is, the Elder Fraud Hotline helps with the reports.

You gave your Social Security number, bank details, or a photo of your ID

Get an Identity Protection PIN. It’s a six-digit number that has to be on any federal return filed under your Social Security number, so a thief can’t file one without it. Get it on the IP PIN page, mid-January to mid-November. Can’t sign in? With adjusted gross income under $84,000 ($168,000 married filing jointly), apply with Form 15227, or make an appointment at an IRS office.

Freeze your credit with Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. It’s free. Steps.

Bank account number. Call your bank.

Your IRS sign-in (usually ID.me), or a code you read to them. From a device you trust, sign in to ID.me, change the password, and switch the sign-in check to a passkey or the ID.me Authenticator app. Text codes are better than nothing, but never read one to anyone who contacts you. Then sign in to your IRS account and look for a return you didn’t file or a bank account you didn’t add. Get a recovery plan at IdentityTheft.gov.

Someone already filed a return in your name

The IRS sent a letter asking you to verify (a CP5071-series notice or letter 5447C). Look up the notice number on IRS.gov first. Then use the IRS’s verification service and say you didn’t file that return. Don’t also file Form 14039.

Your e-filed return was rejected as a duplicate, and there’s no letter. File on paper. Send the IRS its identity theft form (Form 14039) once: through IdentityTheft.gov, which sends it for you, or attached to your paper return.

A W-2 or 1099 from an employer you don’t know. Don’t put that income on your return. Contact Social Security at 1-800-772-1213.

For a letter about identity theft or a return you didn’t file:

What it looks like

You filed a month ago and your refund hasn't come.

(415) 555-0193

Text Message
Today 10:06 AM

IRS: Paper refund checks ended Sept. 30, 2025. Your $1,284.00 refund cannot be mailed. Add a direct deposit account within 30 days to receive it: https://irs-depositupdate.com/refund

The IRS did stop mailing most refund checks. What do you do?

• Tap the link and add your bank account so the refund isn't lost
• Type IRS.gov yourself and check your refund status there
• Call the IRS yourself and give them your bank account over the phone

Show the answers

• Wrong move Tap the link and add your bank account so the refund isn't lost The IRS asks for this by letter, and you add the account only after signing in at IRS.gov. It doesn't take bank details by text.
• Best move Type IRS.gov yourself and check your refund status there Where's My Refund needs no sign-in. If the IRS needs a bank account from you, it mails a letter, and you add the account only after signing in at IRS.gov. Forward the text to 7726 and delete it.
• Okay Call the IRS yourself and give them your bank account over the phone Safe, because you dialed. But IRS staff can't add a bank account by phone. They'll send you to your account on IRS.gov.

The paper-check change is real. The IRS asks for a bank account by letter, and you add it only by signing in at IRS.gov.

A voicemail from a number you don't know.

(800) 555-0162

Voicemail · 11:40 AM

1. Recording This is an automated message from the Internal Revenue Service about your federal tax account.
2. Recording Please visit IRS.gov to view your account, make a payment, or resolve this matter.
3. Recording Thank you.

No name, no amount, no number to call back. What do you do?

• Call back the number it came from
• Type IRS.gov yourself and sign in to your account
• Delete it. The IRS only sends letters

Show the answers

• Wrong move Call back the number it came from Caller ID can be faked. And this kind of message doesn't want a call back. It points you to IRS.gov.
• Best move Type IRS.gov yourself and sign in to your account The IRS says it does leave automated messages like this one: no details, just a pointer to IRS.gov. Your balance and your IRS notices are in the account.
• Okay Delete it. The IRS only sends letters The first contact is normally a letter. But the IRS does leave automated messages like this one, and signing in settles it.

The IRS does leave automated voicemails with no details that point to IRS.gov. Sign in at IRS.gov yourself to see what it's about.

You got an IRS notice CP40 about your $2,140 balance from 2023, then a letter from the collection agency it named.

(888) 555-0147

Incoming call · 2:15 PM

1. Caller Hi, this is Dana with the collection agency the IRS assigned your 2023 balance to.
2. Caller You should have the IRS notice and our letter. First I'll need to verify you with the taxpayer authentication number on them.
3. Caller Once that's done, I can take your card number and process the full $2,140 today, or set up monthly payments.

The caller knows your balance and mentions both letters. What do you do?

• Verify with her and pay by card on the call, so it's done
• Say you'll call back, call the agency at the number IRS.gov lists, and pay only on IRS.gov
• Hang up and ignore it. The IRS doesn't use outside collectors

Show the answers

• Wrong move Verify with her and pay by card on the call, so it's done The IRS says its agencies never ask you to pay them directly and don't collect financial information. Anyone asking for your card on this call isn't following that, whoever they are.
• Best move Say you'll call back, call the agency at the number IRS.gov lists, and pay only on IRS.gov The program is real, and the agencies call after those two letters. Calling the number IRS.gov lists means you don't have to judge the caller. On that call, you each give part of the authentication number. Payments go to the IRS.
• Okay Hang up and ignore it. The IRS doesn't use outside collectors Hanging up is safe. But the IRS does use private agencies, and your CP40 named one. The balance doesn't go away. Call the agency at the number IRS.gov lists, or pay on IRS.gov.

IRS collection agencies are real and they do call, but only after two letters, and they never ask you to pay them. Call the agency at the number IRS.gov lists, and pay the IRS.

What they’ll ask for

“Verify your identity to release your refund.” Real requests come by letter, and the letter tells you how to answer. Look up its number on IRS.gov first.

“Add your bank account so we can send your refund.” Paper refund checks are mostly gone, so this one sounds right. If the IRS needs an account, it mails a letter (CP53E), and you add the account only by signing in at IRS.gov. It never takes bank details for a refund by text, email, or phone.

“Scan this QR code to check your account.” Real IRS letters can have a QR code. So do fake ones, like the “Digital Asset Compliance Portal” letters sent to people who own crypto in 2026. Type IRS.gov yourself and sign in instead.

“You owe back taxes. Pay now or a warrant goes out.” The IRS doesn’t call to demand payment now or threaten arrest. Check your balance on IRS.gov.

“Pay with gift cards, a Bitcoin ATM, or a wire to this account.” No agency asks you to buy gift cards or use a Bitcoin ATM, and no one from the IRS sends a courier for cash, gold, or your card. IRS.gov/payments lists the real ways to pay, including straight from your bank account (Direct Pay). Go there yourself, not through a link or a caller.

“I’ll set up your IRS account for you.” Someone who contacts you with that offer wants your information. Set it up yourself on IRS.gov, or with family you trust sitting next to you.

“Read me your IP PIN.” The IRS never asks for it. It says any call, email, or text that does is a scam.

“You qualify for a bigger refund.” A credit you’ve never heard of, pushed on social media or by a preparer who won’t sign your return. The IRS warns these can lead to refund delays, audits, and penalties. Check any credit on IRS.gov before you claim it.

“Send a photo of your driver’s license and your bank details to claim your unclaimed refund.” A fake IRS letter, sometimes in a cardboard delivery envelope. Don’t send anything. Report it to the Postal Inspection Service (1-877-876-2455) and at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.

How the IRS actually reaches you

• Calls. The first contact is normally a letter. The IRS or its collection agencies may call about your account.
• Texts, email, social media. A social media direct message is never from the IRS. Send scam emails and texts to [email protected], with the subject “IRS” for an email or “Text” for a text (what to include).
• State taxes. Some state tax agencies do text. Find yours through IRS.gov’s list of state tax websites, not the link in the message.