The first few months of 2025, particularly during the US tax season, have seen a notable surge in IRS scams cyberattacks targeting taxpayers and tax-related services. According to Broadcom’s Symantec Security Center, these attacks are primarily in the form of phishing campaigns, smishing attempts, and fraudulent domain registrations. Cybercriminals exploit the urgency of tax filing deadlines to manipulate victims into sharing sensitive personal information or downloading malicious files. This rise in cyberattacks has been largely attributed to fraudulent URLs mimicking the official IRS website, with examples like “hxxps://www.irs.gov.tax-initial[.]com,” spreading through smishing text messages.
A deeper dive into WebPulse telemetry revealed a large number of domains used for these attacks, with hundreds of malicious IRS-themed URLs found in January 2025 alone.
These fraudulent sites, which closely resemble legitimate IRS pages, have been actively promoted through text messages and social media platforms. Domains such as “irs.gov.reporting-tax[.]com” and “payment-form-irs[.]com” were identified, showcasing a deliberate attempt to trick users into interacting with these harmful websites.
The constant appearance of similar domains signals the scale of this ongoing cyber threat, with nearly 3,500 IRS-related malicious domains detected during this period.
Another concerning tactic used by cybercriminals was the registration of typo-squatter domains, which are slight variations of legitimate IRS website names designed to deceive users. Domains like “claim32200-for2021-taxcredit[.]com” and “gov-irs[.]net” were among the nearly 150 new domains registered in January 2025. These domains have been created to exploit unsuspecting users who may not notice the small differences in the web addresses. The purpose of these domains is to make fraudulent tax-related content appear official, thereby facilitating phishing attacks and other malicious activities.
In response to this surge in IRS scams cyberattacks, Symantec’s WebPulse technology has helped block access to these malicious domains, offering users protection against these schemes. Cybersecurity experts strongly advise individuals and businesses to remain vigilant during the tax season, verifying the authenticity of tax-related websites before interacting with them. To avoid falling victim to these cybercriminal activities, users should refrain from clicking on unsolicited links and should utilize trusted security tools to detect and mitigate these threats.
