Fraudsters are sending smishing messages to New Yorkers posing as the state Department of Taxation and Finance and claiming to offer Inflation Refunds, in an attempt to steal personal and financial information.
The article says the state’s Inflation Refund program automatically sends checks to eligible residents and does not require people to apply or provide personal information. The reported texts urge recipients to click a link to provide payment details, with one message stating, “Your refund request has been processed and approved. Please provide accurate payment information by September 29, 2025,” and warning of forfeiture if information is not submitted.
Clicking the links leads to pages that impersonate the tax agency and prompt users to “Check Refund” before asking for name, address, email, phone number and Social Security Number, the report said, information that can be used for identity theft and financial fraud.
On Sept. 28, Governor Kathy Hochul’s office issued a warning saying the scammers use text messages, email and direct mail to try to trick people into providing sensitive payment information. “New Yorkers do not have to do anything to receive an inflation refund check outside of meeting the eligibility requirements,” the office said, and it warned that “the Tax Department and the IRS do not call or text individuals for personal information.”
The New York Department of Taxation and Finance also warned it will never contact taxpayers by text, phone or email about the inflation refund, and the article said recipients should avoid following links from unexpected messages, hang up on unsolicited tax-related calls and report suspected scams to the Tax Department or the IRS.