The IRS issues regular warnings to tax filers about avoiding falling victim to scams involving tax refunds. Some of these scams are common enough that the Internal Revenue Service has created a list of them, how they work, and how to ensure your tax funds are not interfered with.
Tax season sees fraudsters doing their best to steal from you and the IRS. As tax season 2026 is under full swing leading up to the income tax filing deadline, nefarious forces are taking advantage of the opportunity to try their luck, and unfortunately, many will be successful. Some of the most common devious strategies to fool taxpayers are convincing people to create fictitious W-2 forms and the sending out of emails purporting to be from a software company, the IRS, or a state tax agency.
Below are three common and frequently successful ways that criminals target taxpayers who have filed for tax refunds.
Overstated withholding scam
This form of fraud involves posts circulating on social media that encourage you to complete and submit either Form W-2, a Wage and Tax Statement, or a different form like Form 1099-NEC or another 1099 with false information regarding your income and by falsely reporting withholding amounts.
The IRS says the scam involves fabricating a “large income and withholding amounts, as well as the fictional employer supplying those amounts.” People are then instructed to submit the false return electronically with a chance of securing a substantial refund based on false withholding.
Do not under any circumstances attempt to defraud the IRS, especially if you are due a legitimate refund. You’ll face great disappointment when you won’t even be able to access the money you are owed after your claim is reviewed.
According to the IRS:
“If the IRS cannot verify the wages, income or withholding credits entered on the tax return, the tax refund will be held pending further review.”
Bad advice circulating on social media
Social media is known for all sorts of false information that’s disseminated for all kinds of reasons. Tax season is rife with misleading “facts” and incorrect info about tax and much of it is able to sound quite convincing. The Internal Revenue Service stated:
“Viral ‘tax hacks’ can push taxpayers to file returns with false information or claim credits they don’t qualify for, leading to refund delays, audits, penalties, or worse. Social media-driven misinformation and disinformation remain a major driver of tax scams,” according to the IRS.
This kind of scam advises taxpayers to file bogus claims using W-2 Forms in the hopes of securing a bigger refund. This will fail, and those who file false claims may face “significant civil and criminal penalties,” according to the IRS.
Fake “self-employment tax credit”
If there’s a valid credit that you can claim from the IRS available to you, then it’s likely you would already have learned about it via official sources, not social media. There is no such thing as a self-employment tax credit, so as desperate as you may be to maximize your tax refund, this avenue is pointless to pursue.
The IRS explains:
“Promoters market it as a way for self-employed people and gig workers to get big payments for the COVID-19 pandemic period. Similar to misleading marketing around the employee retention credit, there is inaccurate information being circulated that suggests many people qualify for the tax credit and payments of up to $32,000 when they actually do not.”
How can you protect yourself?
The main way to ensure you don’t fall for false tax information is to only trust official sources, such as the Internal Revenue Service’s website or verified social media channels. Unverified social media accounts should definitely not be relied on for accurate information, even if the page looks as legitimate as you would expect from the real thing.
Social media is the greatest source of untrustworthy info, evidenced by posts doing the rounds that claim that a $5,000 Stimulus Check from the DOGE is already a certainty.