PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. — The clock is ticking, and right now, Americans have less than two weeks to file taxes. With the countdown on, it's this time of year when scammers prey on those in a hurry to meet the filing deadline.
For a lot of people, if they get a call, email, or any kind of communication from the IRS, it might cloud their better judgment.
"I got an email from a recruiter from the IRS," Katie Hainley explained. Immediately, she knew something was off.
"And it seems sort of suspicious to me. So I went to the actual IRS website, and I clicked on 'Contact Us.' And I'm like, 'Hey, do you guys ever send out emails for, you know, trying to hire people?' And they're like, 'No, absolutely not.'"
Hainley wanted to be able to provide a thorough scam report, so she replied to the scammer's email anyway. They were asking for her personal information before she even applied for the job.
"They said that they needed things like my driver's license, my social security number for like tax reasons," Hainley said.
IRS impersonation scams like this one are some of the more common scams the Better Business Bureau sees this time of year.
"Their two goals are to either get money from you or steal your personal information, have you click on a link, fill out personal information, give up your social security number, and that is the endgame of these scammers," Bryan Oglesby, the director of public relations and outreach for BBB West Florida, said.
The IRS will never reach out to you through text, email, or social media asking for your personal or financial information. That includes if you miss the tax deadline.
"They're always going to mail you something if you owe money, and if they do contact you, they're going to allow you to verify who they are," Oglesby said.
For Hainley, she's been scammed out of thousands of dollars previously. Now, her guard stays up so that it never happens again.
"No one ever expects to be scammed," she said. "And unfortunately, you could lose a lot of money and you could also lose your identity in the process."
When in doubt, the BBB recommends you take a pause, verify who is reaching out to you and don't be in a rush to respond. Taking that extra time could save you money and a lot of heartache.
Last year, the IRS received more than 294,000 identity theft complaints.
Malique Rankin is a general assignment reporter with 10 Tampa Bay. You can email her story ideas at mrankin@10tampabay.com and follow her Facebook, X, and Instagram pages.