Experts Are Warning Americans To Look Out For Debt Relief Fraud As Searches For IRS Text Scam Surged By 809 Percent In The Last 24 Hours

Experts are warning Americans to look out for debt relief fraud as searches for 'IRS text scam' surged by 809 percent in the last 24 hours.
The tax deadline has passed, but scammers are still trying to take advantage of struggling households looking for ways to manage and relieve debt amid . 
Internal Revenue (IRS) Commissioner Danny Werfel said last month that email and text scams around tax relief are 'relentless.'
Scammers are routinely sending phony messages about a 'tax rebate' or another tax refund or benefit, according to .
While the text messages may look legitimate and mention a rebate or 'refund payment', it is important to be aware that no matter what the text says, it is very likely to be scammer phishing for your information, the tax resolution company warned.
Warning as searches for 'IRS text scam' surge by 809 percent in the last day
Scammers are now routinely sending phony messages about a 'tax rebate' or another tax refund or benefit, according to Ideal Tax
According to the Federal Trade Commission, since 2018, more than 75,000 victims have lost $28 million to scammers impersonating the IRS over the phone, email and texts. 
Experts warned that if you open a scam text and click on a link to 'claim your refund', you are putting yourself at risk of having personal information stolen, or even having malware installed onto your phone by the scammer.
Ideal Tax shared top tips for spotting a scam. 
1.

Never click on any links in text messages from the IRSIt is important to never share any personal information with an ‘organization' who contacts you unexpectedly.
Legitimate contact will most often always be through an official letter through regular mail delivered by the United States Postal Service.
If you are unsure of the legitimacy of the letter, call the IRS directly at 800-829-1040.
2.

The IRS will never call, text or email for the first timeTo contact you for the first time, the IRS will almost never send a text message or email - they will always send you an official letter first.
However, there are circumstances where the IRS will call or come to a home or business.
This is normally when a taxpayer has an overdue tax bill, an unfiled tax return or has not made an employment tax deposit.
3. Always check the status of any pending refund on the official websiteIf you are in the process of receiving a tax refund from the IRS, you can check its status on the official IRS website.
4.

Report any unexpected text or emails from the "IRS"Texts or emails claiming to be the IRS that raise any of the above red flags should be reported.
You can send a screenshot or an email to phishing@irs.gov as an attachment.
TurboTax was accused of launching 'predatory' and 'deceptive' marketing campaigns which lured customers away from free services
The CEO of TurboTax's parent company Intuit is currently Sasan Goodarzi, pictured 
It comes as millions of Americans who were deceived by an online firm into paying for https://www.servicekomputerpanggilantangerang.com/ tax return services that should have been free will .
Website TurboTax was accused of launching 'predatory' and 'deceptive' marketing campaigns which lured customers away from free services run by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
The company plugged its own tax return process as 'free, free, free' in an advertising campaign but then would lump customers with 'upgrades' and add-on fees they did not need.
Last year, it was ordered to pay $141 million to the 4.4 million customers who were affected.
Now victims have started to receive their settlement money, with payments ranging between $29 and $85 depending on the number of tax years they qualify for.
Verizon also issued a warning earlier this month over the  - including ones that claim you have won a contest you did not enter. 
The telecoms giant urged users to pay close attention to so-called 'smishing' attacks, which a scam message is sent via SMS or text.
It told customers to look out for messages that appear to come from reputed organizations, which try and dupe unsuspecting victims into handing over personal information such as bank details, credit card information or even a social security number - and often contain a link to a fraudulent website. 
<div class="art-ins mol-factbox news" data-version="2" id="mol-452718e0-ffbf-11ed-8df4-3bf2f5e53d51" website as searches for 'IRS scams' up 809%: Signs you're being conned