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Therefore, There Is No Relief Hackers Are Targeting Your Stimulus Check Payments in Five Ways, According to Experts, Prompting This Urgent Alert.

During the pandemic, scammers have come up with new and inventive ways to steal money, including targeting stimulus check payments.

Cybercriminals have taken advantage of naive Americans who received three rounds of stimulus cheques by hacking into their accounts and siphoning off the funds.

Scammers are impersonating the Internal Revenue Service in text messages and phone calls as tax returns reach millions of bank accounts this tax season.

“Tax scams have cost tens of thousands of people millions of money and their personal information,” the agency warned on its website.

“Scammers set up individuals, businesses, payroll, and tax professionals using conventional mail, phone, or email.”

To be clear, the IRS does not communicate with individuals by email, text messaging, or social media.

Taxpayers who click on a link in a fraudulent text risk giving up personal information, which might jeopardize their stimulus payouts.

Taxpayers should also be on the lookout for incoming calls from scammers posing as IRS agents, demanding that the recipient pay a fictitious missing payment.

Email phishing attacks are also sending out communications to taxpayers about stimulus payments, in an attempt to persuade recipients that they owe money to the fictitious organization and that they must act quickly.

“Defending against phishing scams necessitates continual awareness, and we encourage tax professionals to take a few basic precautions to help safeguard their clients and themselves,” said IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig.

Recent pandemic-related scams have a tendency to convey a compelling story in order to persuade the recipient to click on a harmful link or attachment.

SCAMS OF SOCIAL SECURITY

The Federal Trade Commission also advised taxpayers not to give out their social security information to a fraudster.

According to the FTC’s website, social security imposter scams are the most common sort of government imposter fraud.

Hackers will frequently claim that your Social Security number is required to obtain your stimulus money.

If you receive a questionable call, hang up without answering it and report the scam to the Office of the Inspector General, according to the Social Security Administration.

SCAMMERS OF UNEMPLOYMENT

Scammers are attempting to claim unemployment benefits on behalf of others, according to the IRS.

Workers should be careful of Form 1099-G paperwork detailing unemployment benefits that they did not seek for or receive during this tax season.

The IRS advises taxpayers who believe their identities were stolen in order to collect unemployment benefits to filing tax returns with only the money they actually earned.

The COVID-19 epidemic “hit millions of taxpayers in 2020 through job loss or reduced work hours,” according to the IRS.

“Unemployment compensation was applied for and obtained by some taxpayers. Unemployment benefits are taxable under the law.”

To prevent thieves from stealing your Social Security funds, follow these three simple measures.

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