The Federal Trade Commission has reported that scammers are using the Child Tax Credit to steal personal and financial information from innocent Americans. In most scams, criminals act as IRS agents.
For this reason, people should be informed of the signs to prevent it from happening as well as report the potential attack to avoid scammers to scam families.
Scammers Use Child Tax Credit to Deceive Families
For background information, the American Rescue Plan, which is a pandemic assistance bill passed in March, temporarily boosted the value of the Child TaxCredit and enabled the IRS to transfer funds in monthly installments through 2021, per CNBC. This only means that families can receive up to $250 or $300 per month depending on the age of their kids.
Moreover, Deputy Secretary Adewale Adeyemo stated in a press release that the advanced Child Tax Credit has provided monthly direct aid to every family, enabling them to meet their basic home requirements such as food and childcare.
"It's clear this tax relief is meaningfully improving the lives of children in every corner of the country, which is why Congress must act to extend it, so these monthly payments don't end after December," Adeyemo furthered.
Despite the relief it brings, scammers are taking advantage of the child tax credit to steal from innocent Americans, CNBC reported. The said scammers frequently engage in a form of "government impersonator" fraud, in which they act as a member of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). These thieves try to reach people through phone, text, e-mail, and social networks, sending victims to false web pages that seem to be authentic.
Since scammers have been using the Child Tax Credit to deceive people, Federal Trade Commission (FTC) shared several things for eligible families to know in order to prevent scammers.
- Families should check their eligibility for the tax credit. If families have not received their advance payment this year yet, they should head to this link and follow the instruction of the IRS.
- The IRS utilized information from previously filed tax returns to automatically enroll people in the Child Tax Credit. It is possible that families will not receive payments automatically if they didn't file a tax return for 2019 or 2020. With that being said, families should sign up to this link for the said payments.
- The IRS and other government agencies will never approach families via text, email or social media. It is important to know that IRS agents will never use the stated platforms to request personal or financial information, only scammers will.
- The IRS does not use automated phone calls and will not contact families unless it is necessary or threatening. The IRS will not call families to ask them to provide or verify financial information in order to receive their Child Tax Credit installments.
- The IRS will never request a gift card, wire transfer, or cryptocurrency transaction in exchange for financial assistance.
How to Report Potential Attack
If a fraud tries to contact families in an attempt to steal their Child Tax Credit payments or to perpetrate any other form of fraud, it is important to notify the FTC of any illegal behavior.
By the FTC's involvement, individuals might be able to help prevent criminals in their tracks and avoid other people from being victims.
For those who wish to report scammers, head to this link.
