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Tax scam alert: How to protect yourself and your tax refund

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Tax scam alert: How to protect yourself and your tax refund

Tax season is upon us, and while many of you are preparing to file your returns, it’s crucial to be aware of the ever-evolving world of tax scams. 

This year, it’s more important than ever to stay informed and on your guard. 

New research by McAfee, a cybersecurity company, has shed light on how common these scams are and what kind of scams they are, revealing some surprising trends and highlighting the importance of protecting yourself.

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Scam written on tax forms (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

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How Americans file and pay taxes in 2025

Before diving into the scams, let’s look at how people are handling their taxes these days. The McAfee research indicates that:

  • A little more than half of Americans (53%) are e-filers, taking the online route through tax software or IRS Free File
  • Nearly a third (31%) rely on professional tax preparers
  • The vast majority (60%) handle payments and refunds electronically
  • A large portion (52%) still receive their W-2s and 1099s the old-fashioned way: in the mail
  • While others (31%) log in to payroll service portals (e.g., ADP, Workday, Paychex) to retrieve them

Illustration of tax prep tools (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

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The unsettling reality of tax scams

The reality is that tax scams are more prevalent than we might prefer to acknowledge. Nearly one in four individuals (23%) say they know someone or have personally fallen victim to such scams. Let’s break down who’s being affected and how.

  • Young adults (18-24): This group is, surprisingly, the most likely to fall victim to scams. They are also most likely to have their information compromised via Instagram and WhatsApp.
  • Older adults (65-74): On the other end of the spectrum, older adults are the least likely to have encountered tax scams.
  • Gender differences: Young men are significantly more likely to lose money to scams than young women.

And when people do lose money, the amounts can be substantial:

  • 81% lost over $500
  • 51% lost over $1,000
  • A sobering 5% lost over $10,000

Scam written on a tablet surrounded by cash (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

THE HIDDEN COSTS OF FREE APPS: YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION 

Demands and threats: What scammers want

Scammers use a variety of tactics to trick people into giving up their money or personal information. The research shows that many people have received suspicious messages claiming to be from the IRS or a state tax authority via:

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  • Phone calls (30%)
  • Text messages (27%)
  • Facebook/Facebook Messenger (5%)
  • WhatsApp (3%)
  • Instagram/Instagram Direct Messages (2%)

These messages often include demands for:

  • Social Security numbers or tax identification numbers (40%)
  • Immediate payment of back taxes (27%)
  • Bank account numbers (18%)
  • Credit/debit card information (17%)

It’s important to note that the IRS generally doesn’t initiate contact via phone, text or social media to demand immediate payment.

A woman preparing her taxes (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

THE TAXING TRUTH: A STATE-BY-STATE ANALYSIS OF TAX TIME TRICKERY

Who’s being targeted by which scam?

Different age groups are targeted with different scams. Here’s the breakdown.

  • Older adults (65-74): This group is heavily targeted by payment scams, such as demands for back taxes or fake tax refund schemes.
  • Middle-aged (35-54): This group is targeted by a mix of identity theft and payment scams, like requests for Social Security numbers or demands for back tax payments.
  • Younger adults (18-24): Scammers often seek personal information from this group, like birth dates and bank account numbers.

A woman working on her taxes (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

The cost of falling for scams

Many people have received emails or texts about their “tax refund” or “tax refund e-statement” with a link. A large portion of people (39%) clicked on these links. It’s definitely alarming how many people end up falling for these scams. 

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Almost 40% of people who get a scam message or call actually send the scammer money. Younger adults are particularly vulnerable; more than half of 18- to 24-year-olds know someone who’s paid up. When people click those tempting links about tax refunds or e-statements, they’re playing a risky game: Almost 40% of people clicked on that email or text message, and that’s where scammers can really get you.

A woman working on her taxes (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

AI’s role in the future of tax scams

Looking ahead, AI is making scams even scarier. A whopping 87% of people are worried about AI’s role in creating realistic tax scams, but only 40% feel confident they could spot a deepfake from the IRS. As a result, many people (41%) are second-guessing real tax communications. In fact, more than half of people say the tax scam messages they’ve received this year are more sophisticated or realistic than last year. It’s no wonder that most people are concerned about tax fraud this season. 

“Tax scammers are getting smarter, and many are using AI to make their tricks more convincing than ever, just when people are feeling the most pressure to file quickly,” said Abhishek Karnik, head of threat research at McAfee. “While not every scam uses AI, we predict a rise in more sophisticated, social engineering-focused tax fraud tactics as access to AI tools increases, including fraudulent emails, phone calls that use AI-generated audio and fake tax prep websites, making it easy for even the savviest filers to slip up.”

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How to protect yourself from tax scams

OK, so the scam landscape looks pretty grim. What can you do to stay safe? Here are some practical steps to protect yourself.

1. Be skeptical of unsolicited contact: Remember that the IRS will never contact you via phone, email, text or social media to demand immediate payment or request personal information.

2. Avoid clicking suspicious links; use strong antivirus software: Do not click on links in emails or texts from unknown senders. The best way to safeguard yourself from malicious links that install malware, potentially accessing your private information, is to have antivirus software installed on all your devices. This protection can also alert you to phishing emails and ransomware scams, keeping your personal information and digital assets safe. Get my picks for the best 2025 antivirus protection winners for your Windows, Mac, Android and iOS devices.

3. Guard your personal information: Protect your Social Security number, bank account details and other sensitive data carefully.

4. Create strong, unique passwords: Be sure to use strong passwords on financial and tax websites. Make sure each password is unique, especially for financial accounts. Get more details about my best expert-reviewed password managers of 2025 here.

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5. Enable two-factor authentication: This adds an extra layer of security to your accounts that will prevent a hacker from getting into your accounts.

6. Invest in personal data removal services: These services monitor your personal information and alert you to potential fraud. While no service promises to remove all your data from the internet, having a removal service is great if you want to constantly monitor and automate the process of removing your information from hundreds of sites continuously over a longer period of time. Check out my top picks for data removal services here.

7. Don’t respond to texts/calls from unknown sources: Whatever you do, don’t respond to texts/calls from unknown sources whatsoever.

8. Trust your gut: If something feels off, it probably is. Verify information independently by contacting the IRS or your state tax authority directly.

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Kurt’s key takeaways

Tax season doesn’t have to be a stressful time filled with worry. By staying informed, being on your guard and taking simple steps to protect yourself, you can confidently navigate the tax landscape and avoid falling victim to these scams. Be skeptical, be careful and always remember that when it comes to your taxes, it’s always better to be safe than sorry.

Have you or someone you know been targeted by a tax scam? Let us know by writing us at Cyberguy.com/Contact.

For more of my tech tips and security alerts, subscribe to my free CyberGuy Report Newsletter by heading to Cyberguy.com/Newsletter.

Ask Kurt a question or let us know what stories you’d like us to cover.

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Copyright 2025 CyberGuy.com. All rights reserved.

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Here’s your first look at Kratos in Amazon’s God of War show

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Here’s your first look at Kratos in Amazon’s God of War show

Amazon has slowly been teasing out casting details for its live-action adaptation of God of War, and now we have our first look at the show. It’s a single image but a notable one showing protagonist Kratos and his son Atreus. The characters are played by Ryan Hurst and Callum Vinson, respectively, and they look relatively close to their video game counterparts.

There aren’t a lot of other details about the show just yet, but this is Amazon’s official description:

The God of War series storyline follows father and son Kratos and Atreus as they embark on a journey to spread the ashes of their wife and mother, Faye. Through their adventures, Kratos tries to teach his son to be a better god, while Atreus tries to teach his father how to be a better human.

That sounds a lot like the recent soft reboot of the franchise, which started with 2018’s God of War and continued through Ragnarök in 2022. For the Amazon series, Ronald D. Moore, best-known for his work on For All Mankind and Battlestar Galactica, will serve as showrunner. The rest of the cast includes: Mandy Patinkin (Odin), Ed Skrein (Baldur), Max Parker (Heimdall), Ólafur Darri Ólafsson (Thor), Teresa Palmer (Sif), Alastair Duncan (Mimir), Jeff Gulka (Sindri), and Danny Woodburn (Brok).

While production is underway on the God of War series, there’s no word on when it might start streaming.

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300,000 Chrome users hit by fake AI extensions

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300,000 Chrome users hit by fake AI extensions

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Your web browser may feel like a safe place, especially when you install helpful tools that promise to make your life easier. But security researchers have uncovered a dangerous campaign in which more than 300,000 people installed Chrome extensions pretending to be artificial intelligence (AI) assistants. Instead of helping, these fake tools secretly collect sensitive information like your emails, passwords and browsing activity.

They used familiar names like ChatGPT, Gemini and AI Assistant. If you use Chrome and have installed any AI-related extension, your personal information may already be exposed. Even worse, some of these malicious extensions are still available today, putting more people at risk without their knowing.

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More than 300,000 Chrome users installed fake AI extensions that secretly harvested sensitive data. (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

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What you need to know about fake AI extensions

Security researchers at browser security company LayerX discovered a large campaign involving 30 malicious Chrome extensions disguised as AI-powered assistants (via BleepingComputer). Together, these extensions were installed more than 300,000 times by unsuspecting users.

Some of the most popular extensions included names like AI Sidebar with 70,000 users, AI Assistant with 60,000 users, ChatGPT Translate with 30,000 users, and Google Gemini with 10,000 users. Another extension called Gemini AI Sidebar had 80,000 users before it was removed.

These extensions were distributed through the official Chrome Web Store, which made them appear legitimate and trustworthy. Even more concerning, researchers found that many of these extensions were connected to the same malicious server, showing they were part of a coordinated effort.

While some extensions have since been removed, others remain available. This means new users could still unknowingly install them and expose their personal data. Here’s the list of the affected extensions:

  • AI Assistant
  • Llama
  • Gemini AI Sidebar
  • AI Sidebar
  • ChatGPT Sidebar
  • Grok
  • Asking ChatGPT
  • ChatGBT
  • Chat Bot GPT
  • Grok Chatbot
  • Chat With Gemini
  • XAI
  • Google Gemini
  • Ask Gemini
  • AI Letter Generator
  • AI Message Generator
  • AI Translator
  • AI For Translation
  • AI Cover Letter Generator
  • AI Image Generator ChatGPT
  • Ai Wallpaper Generator
  • Ai Picture Generator
  • DeepSeek Download
  • AI Email Writer
  • Email Generator AI
  • DeepSeek Chat
  • ChatGPT Picture Generator
  • ChatGPT Translate
  • AI GPT
  • ChatGPT Translation
  • ChatGPT for Gmail

FAKE AI CHAT RESULTS ARE SPREADING DANGEROUS MAC MALWARE

These malicious tools were listed in the official Chrome Web Store, making them appear legitimate and trustworthy. (LayerX)

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How the fake AI Chrome extension attack works

These fake extensions pretend to offer helpful AI features, such as translating text, summarizing emails, or acting as an AI assistant. But behind the scenes, they quietly monitor what you are doing online.

Once installed, the extension gains permission to view and interact with the websites you visit. This allows it to read the contents of web pages, including login screens where you enter your username and password.

In some cases, the extensions specifically targeted Gmail. They could read your email messages directly from your browser, including emails you received and even drafts you were still writing. This means attackers could access private conversations, financial information and sensitive personal details.

The extensions then sent this information to servers controlled by the attackers. Because they loaded content remotely, the attackers could change their behavior at any time without needing to update the extension.

Some versions could also activate voice features through your browser. This could potentially capture spoken conversations near your device and send transcripts back to the attackers.

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If you installed one of these extensions, attackers may already have access to extremely sensitive information. This includes your email content, login credentials, browsing habits and possibly even voice recordings.

We reached out to Google for comment, and a spokesperson told CyberGuy that the company “can confirm that the extensions from this report have all been removed from the Google Web Store.”

BROWSER EXTENSION MALWARE INFECTED 8.8M USERS IN DARKSPECTRE ATTACK

Once installed, the extensions could read emails, capture passwords, monitor browsing activity and send the data to attacker-controlled servers. (Bildquelle/ullstein bild via Getty Images)

7 ways you can protect yourself from malicious Chrome extensions

If you have ever installed an AI-related Chrome extension, taking a few simple precautions now can help protect your accounts and prevent further damage.

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1) Remove any suspicious or unused browser extensions

On a Windows PC or Mac, open Chrome and type chrome://extensions into the address bar. Review every extension listed. If you see anything unfamiliar, especially AI assistants you don’t remember installing, click “Remove” immediately. Malicious extensions depend on going unnoticed. Removing them stops further data collection and cuts off the attacker’s access to your information.

2) Change your passwords

If you installed any suspicious extension, assume your passwords may be compromised. Start by changing your email password first, since email controls access to most other accounts. Then update passwords for banking, shopping and social media accounts. This prevents attackers from using stolen credentials to break into your accounts.

3) Use a password manager to create and protect strong passwords

A password manager generates unique, complex passwords for each account and stores them securely. This prevents attackers from accessing multiple accounts if one password is stolen. Password managers also alert you if your login credentials appear in known data breaches, helping you respond quickly and protect your identity. Check out the best expert-reviewed password managers of 2026 at Cyberguy.com.

4) Install strong antivirus software and keep it active

Good antivirus software can detect malicious browser extensions, spyware, and other hidden threats. It scans your system for suspicious activity and blocks harmful programs before they can steal your information. This adds an important layer of protection that works continuously in the background to keep your device safe. Get my picks for the best 2026 antivirus protection winners for your Windows, Mac, Android & iOS devices at Cyberguy.com.

5) Use an identity theft protection service

Identity theft protection services monitor your personal data, including email addresses, financial accounts, and Social Security numbers, for signs of misuse. If criminals try to open accounts or commit fraud using your information, you receive alerts quickly. Early detection allows you to act fast and limit financial and personal damage. See my tips and best picks on how to protect yourself from identity theft at Cyberguy.com.

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6) Keep your browser and computer fully updated

Software updates fix security vulnerabilities that attackers exploit. Enable automatic updates for Chrome and your operating system so you always have the latest protections. These updates strengthen your defenses against malicious extensions and prevent attackers from taking advantage of known weaknesses.

7) Use a personal data removal service

Personal data removal services scan data broker websites that collect and sell your personal information. They help remove your data from these sites, reducing what attackers can find and use against you. Less exposed information means fewer opportunities for criminals to target you with scams, identity theft or phishing attacks.

Check out my top picks for data removal services and get a free scan to find out if your personal information is already out on the web by visiting Cyberguy.com.

Get a free scan to find out if your personal information is already out on the web: Cyberguy.com.

Kurt’s key takeaway

Even tools designed to make your life easier can become tools for cybercriminals. Malicious extensions often hide behind trusted names and convincing features, making them difficult to spot. You can significantly reduce your risk by reviewing your browser extensions regularly, removing anything suspicious and using protective tools like password managers and strong antivirus software.

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Have you checked your browser extensions recently? Let us know your thoughts by writing to us at Cyberguy.com.

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Copyright 2026 CyberGuy.com. All rights reserved.

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Malicious browser extensions hit 4.3M users
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Anthropic refuses Pentagon’s new terms, standing firm on lethal autonomous weapons and mass surveillance

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Anthropic refuses Pentagon’s new terms, standing firm on lethal autonomous weapons and mass surveillance

Less than 24 hours before the deadline in an ultimatum issued by the Pentagon, Anthropic has refused the Department of Defense’s demands for unrestricted access to its AI.

It’s the culmination of a dramatic exchange of public statements, social media posts, and behind-the-scenes negotiations, coming down to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s desire to renegotiate all AI labs’ current contracts with the military. But Anthropic, so far, has refused to back down from its two current red lines: no mass surveillance of Americans, and no lethal autonomous weapons (or weapons with license to kill targets with no human oversight whatsoever). OpenAI and xAI had reportedly already agreed to the new terms, while Anthropic’s refusal had led to CEO Dario Amodei being summoned to the White House this week for a meeting with Hegseth himself, in which the Secretary reportedly issued an ultimatum to the CEO to back down by the end of business day on Friday or else.

In a statement late Thursday, Amodei wrote, “I believe deeply in the existential importance of using AI to defend the United States and other democracies, and to defeat our autocratic adversaries. Anthropic has therefore worked proactively to deploy our models to the Department of War and the intelligence community.”

He added that the company has “never raised objections to particular military operations nor attempted to limit use of our technology in an ad hoc manner” but that in a “narrow set of cases, we believe AI can undermine, rather than defend, democratic values” — going on to specifically mention mass domestic surveillance and fully autonomous weapons. (Amodei mentioned that “partial autonomous weapons … are vital to the defense of democracy” and that fully autonomous weapons may eventually “prove critical for our national defense,” but that “today, frontier AI systems are simply not reliable enough to power fully autonomous weapons.” He did not rule out Anthropic acquiescing to the military’s use of fully autonomous weapons in the future but mentioned that they were not ready now.)

The Pentagon had already reportedly asked major defense contractors to assess their dependence on Anthropic’s Claude, which could be seen as the first step to designating the company a “supply chain risk” – a public threat that the Pentagon had made recently (and a classification usually reserved for threats to national security). The Pentagon was also reportedly considering invoking the Defense Production Act to make Anthropic comply.

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Amodei wrote in his statement that the Pentagon’s “threats do not change our position: we cannot in good conscience accede to their request.” He also wrote that “should the Department choose to offboard Anthropic, we will work to enable a smooth transition to another provider, avoiding any disruption to ongoing military planning, operations, or other critical missions. Our models will be available on the expansive terms we have proposed for as long as required.”

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