(Click on the image for Michelle Singletary's Washington Post report)
The IRS has issued a warning to taxpayers about a scam in which a fraudulently obtained tax refund is deposited into a victim’s actual bank account. Here’s how it works:- Cybercriminals steal people’s data from tax professionals, including routing and bank account numbers. The crooks file fraudulent tax returns. Fake refunds are then direct deposited into taxpayers’ real bank accounts.
- In one version of this scam, the criminals then contact victims claiming to be from a debt-collection agency, and they say the refunds were deposited in error. They claim they are now trying to get the refund back for the IRS.