CAPE CORAL, Fla. (WTXL) — Another day, another scam.
"[In the] IRS Criminal Investigations [department] we investigate a range of fraud cases," said department member Lauren Kocinski.
According to the IRS, at first, it was stimulus checks and PPP loan scams.
"Individuals and businesses have been defrauded by scammers out of millions of dollars," she said.
And now, crooks have moved on to something else.
"The American Rescue Act of 2021 included that temporary enhancement for the child tax credit which was intended to help millions of families struggling to recover from the pandemic. And this has just really been a heyday for criminals," said Kocinski.
That's right parents, scammers are looking for ways to get their hands on that extra money hitting your accounts.
"If you get any correspondence out the blue from someone asking you for money or telling you that they can help you facilitate getting you your payments be cautious because oftentimes those are scammers," she said.
And whether they call, text or email, the IRS says pay attention to their tone.
"Anyone that says there's an urgent matter or they're threatening you or aggressive calls, all of that, scams," Kocinski.
And if you do happen to catch one of these scammers in the act the IRS encourages you to jot down some notes.
"If they happen to give you their name or where they're calling from or the date, the time, what they're asking for, that's all information that will be helpful in reporting them to the IRS," she said
You can report a scam to the IRS by clicking here.
