IRS warns of new ‘unclaimed refund' scam through the mail

The IRS is warning taxpayers about a new scam tricking people into believing they are owed a refund.

It starts with people receiving a cardboard envelope in the mail. Enclosed is a notice with the IRS masthead claiming it is about an "unclaimed refund."

The letter requests sensitive personal information, including pictures of driver's licenses from different angles, Social Security numbers and bank information.

Identity thieves can then use the provided information to try and obtain tax refunds or other financial data.

"This is just the latest in the long string of attempts by identity thieves posing as the IRS in hopes of tricking people into providing valuable personal information to steal identities and money, including tax refunds," IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel said in a news release. "These scams can come in through email, text or even in special mailings. People should be careful to watch out for red flags that clearly mark these as IRS scams."

The letter includes a fake IRS phone number and displays typical scam warning signs like typos, inaccurate information and inconsistent fonts.

To learn more about common tax scams, visit the Dirty Dozen list here.