The Better Business Bureau (BBB) is alerting the public to a sneaky scheme involving IRS imposters. These scammers send text messages that may seem official, but are actually bait to swindle people out of personal information. The messages fraudulently claim that the recipient is eligible for a $1,400 stimulus check, as reported by KHOU.

In this phishing ruse, scammers impersonate the IRS and assert that the stimulus money can be deposited directly into individuals' bank accounts, or mailed as a check within one to two business days. The catch is, the provided link is a sham, designed to either spread malware or solicit personal and financial details. The BBB insists, true IRS communication is mailed—not via text, email, or social media. The IRS also, will never solicit information through these channels.

According to the BBB's advice, which reflects a warning from CBS News; it is critical to verify any communications claiming to be from the IRS by consulting IRS.gov directly. Taking a cautious approach to unsolicited messages, and resisting the urge to click on any links is also important, especially given the sense of urgency scammers create to hustle individuals into acting rashly. The advice detailed, to thwart such scams includes, forwarding suspicious messages to [email protected] and using the BBB.org/ScamTracker to report them.

It should be noted, the IRS did distribute automatic payments to qualified taxpayers who failed to claim the Recovery Rebate Credit on their 2021 tax returns. However, these taxpayers received an official letter from the IRS, and no action on their part was necessary. These genuine transactions should have been processed by late January, as stipulated by the IRS and reinforced in warnings issued by BBB.