Accounting firms are seeing a noticeable increase in scams tied to IRS Notice CP53E, a legitimate notice that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has been issuing more frequently this year. As the IRS continues moving away from paper refund checks and toward electronic payments, many taxpayers are encountering CP53E for the first time – creating an opportunity for scammers to take advantage of confusion and urgency surrounding tax refunds.
IRS Notice CP53E is a real IRS notice issued when the agency is unable to deliver a taxpayer’s refund by direct deposit. This typically occurs when banking information is missing, incorrect, rejected or unable to be validated.
The notice instructs the taxpayer to add or update direct deposit information through their secure IRS Online Account. If no action is taken within the required timeframe (generally 30 days), the IRS will typically issue a paper refund check instead.
As electronic refunds become the standard, the volume of CP53E notices has increased significantly, and many taxpayers may be unfamiliar with what the notice looks like or how to respond.
Because CP53E notices deal directly with tax refunds and bank account information, scammers are using convincing, but fraudulent versions of these notices to prompt immediate action. These fake communications are often designed to look official and may closely resemble legitimate IRS correspondence, making them difficult to identify at first glance.
The goal is to create urgency and trick recipients into sharing sensitive personal or financial information
Taxpayers should be cautious if a CP53E‑related communication includes any of the following:
While some legitimate IRS notices may contain links or QR codes, taxpayers should avoid scanning or clicking from the notice itself and instead navigate directly to IRS.gov.
The IRS has made it clear that bank account information for a CP53E notice can only be updated through a taxpayer’s secure IRS Online Account, and IRS employees cannot make these changes by phone, text or email.
If you receive an IRS CP53E notice – or something that appears to be one – consider the following steps before taking action:
If you have questions about an IRS notice you’ve received or are unsure whether a communication is legitimate, your Withum advisor can help you evaluate the situation and determine appropriate next steps.
Staying informed and approaching unexpected tax communications with caution can help protect you from fraud and identity theft.
For more information on this topic, please contact a member of our team.
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