Yet, the IRS continues to warn us about these ongoing scams. Great. Here’s another press release warning us to watch out. Come on, are their “Dirty Dozen” tips really doing the trick in 2025 or doing anything at all? They're talking about protecting your EIN like it's your Social Security number. That’s the equivalent of asking someone to take a horse and buggy commute into Manhattan. Totally outdated.

Even worse, the real threat isn’t some dude-in-a-hat faking an IRS agent and calling you. While that is true, there’s a lot more to be worried about. The real danger These tech vulnerabilities which you are likely overlooking, are the ones the IRS barely touches on—if at all. Wake up and smell the crypto-coffee, friends — these scammers have progressed far beyond the days of phone calls only. Your hard-earned money is on the line and quite honestly, the IRS’s recommended practices are putting you at risk.

DeFi Exploits, Your Keys, Your Doom?

Think about DeFi. Decentralized Finance. Sounds futuristic, right? And it is. It’s one of the largest playgrounds for scammers. The IRS cautions against disaster relief scams, which are particularly heinous. Have you thought about the calamity that might be hiding in your crypto wallet?

Phishing attacks have evolved beyond the fake email inbox bait. And they’re not even related to real NFT airdrops, like those telling you to mint the next Bored Ape. You click the link, connect your wallet, and BAM! Your private keys are compromised. Your entire crypto portfolio is gone. Poof. And the IRS isn’t just warning you to safeguard that EIN for no reason. Seriously?

Consider this unexpected connection: The very technology designed to liberate you from traditional financial institutions is creating new and more sophisticated ways to steal your wealth. It’s a savage irony, whipped up by bad faith actors, ignorance, and complacency. The IRS is indeed trying to catch up, but they’re doing so with a giant net. In the meantime, these dudes are packing laser beams!

Even worse, the pace of innovation in the DeFi space is moving so quickly that the government will never be able to enforce and regulate at that rate. Unfortunately, this leaves a regulatory vacuum that scammers are all too happy to exploit. The IRS can’t keep up. Can you?

AI Deepfakes: Impersonation Perfected

Remember those cheesy Nigerian prince scams? Obvious, right? Well, meet their smarter, AI-powered cousin. Deepfakes.

Now, picture getting a video call from somebody who appears to be a legitimate IRS agent. They already know your first name, your last name, your home address, heck…even information from your previous tax return. They're incredibly convincing. They start by warning you of some “critical problem” and so instruct you to pay right away with Bitcoin.

This isn't science fiction. This is happening now. AI-generated deepfakes are becoming increasingly sophisticated, and they’re being leveraged to impersonate trusted figures, such as, yes, IRS agents. The IRS is primarily concerned with individuals filing fraudulent tax returns in your name. What I’m concerned about is them draining your bank account under their own phony identities.

AI has developed greatly and is intended to improve the human experience. This same technology is now being turned against all of us — with dark consequences. The IRS's response? More warnings about EIN security. It’s the equivalent of bringing a knife to a gunfight.

QR codes are everywhere. Restaurants, advertisements, even tax documents. Convenient, right? Wrong. They're a scammer's dream.

QR Codes A Gateway to Fraud?

Think about it. Or when you scan a QR code and you think you’re going to the IRS website to pay your taxes. Instead, it’s really just taking you to a really well-designed phishing site. This site was specifically set up to harvest your usernames and passwords and/or banking info.

The unintended consequence of this rapid adoption is that it has opened up a new attack vector for scammers. We’ve all been accustomed to translating and trusting these tiny squares without question, and it’s this trust that’s being played on. The IRS should be doing more than sounding the alarm on scams. They need to inform the American public about what specific technological vulnerabilities are threatening our safety.

The IRS is correct to sound the alarm on these scams. Their advice needs to evolve. This is what we should be discussing, this is the real threat—the tech vulnerabilities that are endangering us all. Until then, you're on your own. And that's a scary thought.

The unintended consequence of widespread QR code adoption is that it has created a new attack vector for scammers. We've been trained to blindly trust these little squares, and that trust is being exploited. The IRS needs to do more than just warn us about scams. They need to educate us about the specific technological vulnerabilities that are putting us at risk.

Here's what you should do:

  • Be suspicious of everything. Verify every link, every QR code, every email.
  • Never share your private keys. Period.
  • Use a hardware wallet for your crypto. This adds an extra layer of security.
  • Enable two-factor authentication on all your accounts.
  • Report suspicious activity to the IRS and the FTC.

The IRS is right to warn us about scams. But their advice needs to evolve. We need to talk about the real threats, the tech vulnerabilities that are putting us all at risk. Until then, you're on your own. And that's a scary thought.