According to a recent warning from the Illinois Comptroller’s Office, Illinois residents may find themselves under attack from scammers this tax season. In particular, the Comptroller’s Office is warning Illinoisans to be vigilant when it comes to phone calls, emails, and letters that are supposedly from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

These scammers will impersonate the IRS in order to demand payments via wire transfers or gift cards, and threaten jail or deportation if their demands are not met.

Additionally, some scammers will send an email that will look like it’s from the IRS and infest users’ computers with a malware virus if they click on any links.

It is important to remember that the IRS will not email, text, or call if residents owe money. Instead, they will receive a bill in the mail, but wire transfers or gift cards will not be an acceptable form of payment. Some tips to help identify fake IRS scam letters, include looking for irregular fonts, and bad grammar.

Another common scam targets college faculty and students by sending out emails that end in .edu that request they complete a form with their personal information in order for the scammer to fake unemployment claims in their name.

If taxpayers receive a 1099-G form, which is meant for unemployment claims, despite not filing for unemployment benefits, they should immediately report it to the Illinois Department of Employment Services at ides.illinois.gov. 

The final tax season scam that the Comptroller’s Office is warning Illinoisans to be wary of involves the unclaimed tax refund. Under this ploy, scammers will use the allure of easy money as a means to steal personal information.

Illinois residents can track the status of their state tax refunds at myrefund.illinoiscomptroller.gov and are encouraged to report all unsolicited letters, emails, or texts from IRS impersonators to the IRS at phishing@irs.gov.