The Internal Revenue Service is warning Americans against a recent rise of smishing attacks—phishing through text messages—identifying thousands of fraudulent domains that are targeting taxpayers through fake COVID relief, tax credits, or even help with setting up an IRS online account.
“This is phishing on an industrial scale so thousands of people can be at risk of receiving these scam messages,” said IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig, prompting the agency to publish the news release. “In recent months, the IRS has reported multiple large-scale smishing campaigns that have delivered thousands—and even hundreds of thousands—of IRS-themed messages in hours or a few days, far exceeding previous levels of activity.”
