Hackers impersonate tax agents with AI voices: Fraud season in full swing

Fraudsters are increasingly using artificial intelligence to create fake voices to impersonate tax advisors or IRS agents. Such attacks have become especially common during the 2025 tax season.

Cybersecurity experts report a sharp increase in voice phishing attacks – attackers using AI tools generate convincing voices of accountants, consultants or even family members to force victims to provide Social Security numbers, financial documents or logins.

Attackers are also using deepfakes to create video messages from “tax experts” that supposedly warn about problems with reporting. According to experts from Bugcrowd and Keeper Security, the technology has advanced so much that imitating the voice and communication style of the IRS looks believable.

• In addition to voice attacks, there is a rise in text-based scams — SMS with phishing links, fake apps, search traps like “Trump tax refund,” and PDF files with QR codes that lead to infected sites. In February alone, Microsoft recorded more than 2,300 attacks on companies with the theme “IRS Audit.”
• Every year, from January to April, attackers become more active during the tax filing season. But this year, there is a new threat: generative AI allows attacks to be scaled up and made more convincing. The IRS, like other government agencies, has become the new faces of fraudsters who can easily create fake documents, voices, or videos.

AI-based crime has reached a new level: Deepfakes, voice calls, phishing PDFs, and fake tax websites have become commonplace during the 2025 tax season. Protection requires not only technical means, but also citizen vigilance — checking sources, refusing urgent “demands,” and AI content recognition skills. One tip: no real IRS agent will ask for a login in a chat or voice call.