As millions of Americans file their taxes, scammers armed with sophisticated AI tools are looking to intercept your financial information by posing as IRS agents.
DENVER — If there is a Super Bowl for scammers, it is perhaps April 15 when the nation’s tax filing deadline looms over the heads of stressed-out Americans, many of whom are susceptible to getting fooled by a deepfake IRS agent.
Some of these fake agents may call people using AI-generated voices that sound authoritative and convincing.
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“You’ve got threat actors out there that are posing as special agents from the Internal Revenue Service and they’re creating scripts that actually will adapt in real time,” said James Turgal, a 22-year cybersecurity veteran who worked for the FBI.
Turgal, who is now Vice President of Global Advisory Risk and Board Relations at Optiv Security, said AI programs can take cues from what victims say over the phone.
“And if the people on the other end, the victims, start to get nervous, and they start to stutter, and it can read that kind of tone, then it’ll turn up the heat more to use words like ‘arrest warrant.’ It really is forcing these people to make irrational decisions,” Turgal said.
Not only will scammers call people and send text messages with fake links, but they will also use social media to target victims.
According to the annual “Dirty Dozen” tax scams posted by the IRS, the agency “reported over 600 social media impersonators during fiscal year 2025.”
The top scam on the agency’s list this year is IRS impersonation through email and texts.
Recently, cybersecurity company Norton said 17% of people who responded to their survey have encountered a tax scam in 2025.
On the Better Business Bureau’s “Scam Tracker” website, there are daily accounts of people sharing encounters with robocalls and deepfakes claiming to be with the IRS or callers claiming to be with tax relief companies.
What are the red flags?
The IRS stresses that it will reach out to people by mail first, rather than by phone or text.
The agency says to watch out for a big payday offer, demands or threats and website links.
“Or if they want payment, and unconventional means like Bitcoin or PayPal or gift cards–those are absolute red flags,” Turgal said.
Who is most at risk?
Turgal said scammers are looking to target the elderly, but also said younger people who may not be familiar with the tax system could also fall victim to tax scams.
“Most of these threat actors are opportunistic,” Turgal said. “They’re just trying to hit, whoever they can hit the fastest.”
The tax scams will continue after the April 15 deadline.
Herb Weisbaum with the consumer advocacy group at checkbook.org said scammers will often try to convince people they have something wrong with their return or there is more money waiting for them.
“They’ll just change the pitch a little bit for the next couple of months. ‘Oh, we spotted a problem with a return. Oh, you didn’t claim enough deductions. We have more money waiting for you,’’ Weisbaum warned.
“You have to know the IRS will never contact you that way. Don’t fall for it,” Weisbaum said.
You can report IRS tax scams here.
