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The Child Tax Credit Scams

beware child tax scams
Posted By DeonMiller on June 25, 2021

The Child Tax Credit Scams

The Child Tax Credit (CTC), taking effect in July, will provide monthly payments of up to $300 per child for approximately 40 million households. These payments will provide struggling families with desperately needed funds unless the scammers get to the money first. Money’s on the way to millions of households, meaning scammers are not far behind! Here’s what you need to know about CTC scams and how to avoid them.

How the Child Tax Scams play out

Version 1

In one variation of the scam, victims receive phone calls, emails, or social media messages appearing to be from the IRS and asking them to authenticate their personal details or share sensitive information to get their CTC funds. Or instead of pretending to be the IRS, the scammer may claim to “help” the victim get their funds. In either scenario, if the victim follows the instructions, they’ll play right into scammers’ hands.

Version 2

In another scam variation, victims land on a spoofed government website and must input their personal information. Unfortunately, this can open the door for scammers to pull off identity theft and more.

What you need to know about the Child Tax Credit and the IRS

  • The IRS does not make unsolicited calls or emails. All official communications from the IRS come from standard USPS mail.
  • You do not need to take action or share personal info to receive the Child Tax Credit.
  • Only the IRS will be issuing the Child Tax Credits. Anyone else claiming to “help” you receive the payments is a scammer.

If you are a target

If you believe you’ve been targeted by a CTC scam, follow the cardinal rule of personal safety:

  1. Never share sensitive data with an unverified source.
  2. Triple-check the URL on any IRS webpage you visit, as these are easily spoofed.
  3. Report all suspicious activity to the IRS and the FTC.

Now you know to watch out for Child Tax Credit Scams. For additional information on the upcoming Child Tax Credits, to check if you qualify, or to update your dependent or banking information, visit the IRS’s CTC webpage directly at irs.gov. And, if you liked this post, check out our other posts on The MoneySmart Tips blog.