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Comptroller Susana Mendoza urges
the public to watch out for tax related scams
[March 11, 2025]
Tax season is well underway, and with the
documents and number-crunching come con artists looking to steal
your money.
“As you prepare to file your state and federal income tax returns,
it’s important to protect your personal information,” says
Comptroller Mendoza. “Scammers use this time of year as an
opportunity to take advantage of people just trying to get their
paperwork done.”
Most commonly, con artists will pose as an IRS employee, contacting
people by text, email or phone and asking for personal information
or even offering a refund. Some calls may be threatening, saying the
taxpayer needs to send money right away or click on a link to
correct a problem on their return. The IRS’ preferred method of
communication is mail through the USPS so be suspicious of any other
contact.
What’s even scarier is that scammers are now using AI to replicate
the voice of a trusted accountant or tax preparer so if you feel
like something is off, ask that person a few questions since AI
responses are limited in nature.
Another big concern the IRS says they are seeing
is bad advice and misleading information circulating on social media
like Facebook and TikTok. This often includes telling people they
are eligible for specialty tax credits like the Fuel Tax Credit
meant for off-highway business and farming and Sick Leave and Family
Leave credits that are only meant for certain self-employed
individuals. Additionally, the IRS says social media advice
continues to circulate about a non-existent “Self-Employment Tax
Credit” that’s causing taxpayers to file false claims.
Other scams include:
The “new client” scam in which fraudsters posing as potential
clients email tax preparers and try to get them to click on a
malicious link. Just like individuals, businesses should be wary of
any suspicious looking emails and links.
Smishing occurs when con artists send a text reading something like
“your account has now been put on hold," or "unusual activity
report," and will include a fake “solutions" link to restore the
recipient's account.
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IRS telephone scams, where impersonators commonly target recent
immigrants and those with limited English proficiency. The con
artist will call and threaten arrest or deportation if payment
is not made in the form of a gift card or wire transfer. If you
truly owe money, the IRS will first mail you a bill.
“Remember, neither the state nor the federal government will
call taxpayers, threatening them and demanding payment via a
wire transfer, credit, debit or gift card,” says Comptroller
Mendoza. “That’s a sure sign of a scam.”
Find My Refund
Once you file your state taxes, you can visit
Find My Refund
on the Illinois Office of Comptroller website to check the status of
your refund if applicable. We will check our records to determine if
the Illinois Department of Revenue (IDOR) has sent your information
over to our office. The Illinois Office of Comptroller cannot issue
a refund until we receive a voucher from IDOR. Our office mails out
state income tax refunds within 24-48 hours of receiving the voucher
from IDOR.
Last year, more than 900,000 people signed up to be notified when
their return had been processed through the IOC’s Find My Refund
feature.
Any tax-related questions can be directed to the
Illinois Department of Revenue.
The deadline to file income taxes is Tuesday, April 15, 2024.
[Text received from Abdon Pallasch]
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