New York Governor Kathy Hochul recently announced that New York State will be issuing inflation refund checks.
So many people and families are looking forward to this money but unfortunately so are scammers.
More than 8 million New Yorkers will receive these checks based on their tax income and filling status. These checks will range from $150 to $400.
For a lot of families, this is a great added bonus to help offset the rising prices of everyday items.
However, scammers see the inflation relief checks as a great opportunity.
Fraudulent text messages claiming to be from the New York Department of Revenue are asking people to provide accurate payment information.
Often times the area code of origin is not from the United States. In the case that 7 On Your Side found, the area code was +63, that’s the Philippines.
The link the text provides is not a dot-gov link.
Government agencies will always have a dot-gov in their link address. There may be gov in the title to confuse you, but then the address will lead you to another domain.
The last paragraph of the text says that they will permanently disqualify you from the refund if you don’t do what they ask.
These scammers will always use a scare tactic to pressure you into acting. Governor Hochul said she wants to give you the money, the state does not want to disqualify you from this money.
Eligible New Yorkers do not need to apply, sign up, or do anything to receive an inflation refund check.
If you receive one of these messages block the sender, delete the message, and report this scam to the Tax Department or IRS. The bottom line is the Tax Department will not contact you in this way.
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