Scammers Impersonate the IRS With Physical Mail The IRS's Criminal Investigation unit issued a fraud alert warning about scammers targeting cryptocurrency holders with convincing fake IRS let
The IRS's Criminal Investigation unit issued a fraud alert warning about scammers targeting cryptocurrency holders with convincing fake IRS letters. The alert, first reported by Bloomberg, marks a notable shift in tactics. While phishing and other digital scams are nothing new in the crypto industry, the use of physical mail appears to be a new tactic.
Fraudsters are sending counterfeit letters designed to look like official IRS correspondence, complete with references to real tax years and urgent-sounding deadlines, all directing recipients to a "Digital Asset Compliance Portal" that does not exist.The letters reference tax years spanning 2017 through 2026, giving them the appearance of a legitimate compliance notice covering a taxpayer's full digital asset history.
If victims scan the QR code included in the letter, they land on a page engineered to look exactly like a real government website, complete with an "official website of the United States government" banner and IRS-style branding.The site then asks users to select where they keep their crypto, from hardware wallets like Ledger and Trezor to exchanges like Coinbase, Kraken, and Binance. This allows scammers to learn which platform to impersonate when targeting the victim's account.
The IRS confirmed that it does not operate a Digital Asset Compliance Portal, and said the emerging scam is designed to trick victims into disclosing sensitive financial and cryptocurrency account information.The agency's criminal investigation unit warned that scammers are using official-looking letters to bypass digital defenses.
"Criminals continue to exploit public trust in government agencies by creating convincing fake websites and official-looking correspondence," said IRS-CI chief Jarod Koopman. "Before responding to unexpected requests for personal information, stop, verify the source, and report potential fraud schemes to law enforcement."
The IRS has been clear about a few ground rules that should help distinguish real communications from fakes. The agency does not send QR codes in its official correspondence. If you receive a letter with one, that is your signal to stop and verify before doing anything else. Any legitimate IRS notice can be confirmed through the agency's official website, IRS.gov, or by calling the number listed on that site, not the number printed on a suspicious letter.
The IRS has previously sent letters to taxpayers regarding digital assets, and last year a surge in notices related to crypto reporting created confusion for thousands of taxpayers. Increasingly, the IRS has become accustomed to dealing with digital asset holders as it requires taxpayers to disclose crypto activity on their tax returns. Scammers appear to be exploiting that familiarity to make their fake correspondence more believable.
Sources:Accounting Today: IRS warns crypto holders of fake lettersThe Block: IRS warns crypto holders of fraudster sending fake lettersCoinbase Blog: A Fake IRS Digital Asset Compliance Portal Letter Is Targeting Crypto Holders
