As tax season gets underway, the Federal Trade Commission is issuing a new warning about evolving identity theft scams, urging taxpayers to stay alert.
It’s part of an education campaign for Identity Theft Awareness Week.
Last year, the FTC filed more than a million victim reports, who lost more than $10 billion combined.
Kelle Slaughter, Senior Investigator with the FTC office in Dallas, says scammers are shifting their tactics, moving beyond traditional phone call scams and turning to text messages and emails to steal personal information.
"These text messages include statements like, ‘How to get your tax refund’ or ‘Here’s information about a tax rebate,’" Slaughter explained. "They lead to fake IRS websites where scammers capture your login details, or worse, install malware on your devices."
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