Report by McAfee
Tax Scams Hit Nearly 1 in 4 Adults. Spot the Red Flags
Key Findings
Nearly 1 in 4 Americans (23%) have fallen victim to a tax scam.
56% of adults aged 18–24 avoid unknown links, versus 81% of adults aged 65 and older.
84% of Americans are concerned that AI is making scams harder to detect.
45% of adults aged 18–24 ignore unknown texts or calls, versus 77% of adults aged 65 and older.
Nearly one in five Americans say they have lost money to a tax scam, with victims losing an average of $1,020.
17% of adults aged 18–24 use anti-malware protection, versus 50% of adults aged 65 and older.
11% of Americans report experiencing tax-related identity theft, rising to 17% among adults aged 25–34.
60% of Americans ignore unexpected texts or calls.
53% of Americans use strong passwords.
29% of Americans admit they do not fully understand new tax rules.
67% of Americans say they are seeing the same or more tax scam messages than last year.
37% of Americans say they have second-guessed a legitimate tax communication because they feared it was a scam.
53% of Americans enable two-factor authentication.
Tax-themed scams typically make up about 1% or less of overall scam activity, but targeted campaigns can push scam emails to 6% and scam texts to 7% in a single day.
Only 29% of Americans feel very confident they could recognize a tax scam when they see one.
40% of adults aged 18–24 use two-factor authentication, versus 58% of adults aged 65 and older.
Only 29% of Americans feel very confident they could spot a deepfake IRS voice or video pretending to be from the IRS.
82% of Americans say they are worried about tax fraud or identity theft this year.
38% of Americans say recent legislation has made them less confident they are filing taxes correctly.
23% of adults under 45 report experiencing tax-related identity theft, compared with 4–5% of adults aged 55 and older.
Roughly 80% of adults under 35 say they feel confident they could detect a fake tax message, versus 66% of adults aged 65–74.
31% of Americans use anti-malware or antivirus software.
40% of Americans say tax scam messages are more sophisticated than last year.
77% of Americans worry that AI is making tax scams more convincing.
67% of Americans never click links from unknown senders.
42% of adults aged 18–24 feel very confident they could spot a deepfake IRS video or AI-generated audio, nearly triple the 15% of adults aged 65–74.
90% of Americans say they are taking steps to protect themselves this tax season.