A Michigan man lost $1,051,000 to a scammer posing as an IRS agent, according to a police report from the Kalamazoo County Sheriff's Office.
The incident began on 7 January 2026 when a pop-up appeared on the victim's laptop. He called the number displayed, and the person who answered claimed to be an IRS clerk. The caller told him his personal information had been leaked to the 'black web' and instructed him to liquidate his retirement accounts to protect them.
The first transaction was $8,000 withdrawn at a beer store ATM. The remaining funds came from his 401(k), IRA and personal bank account, transferred via cashier's cheques at his bank. The bank did not flag the transactions as suspicious, according to the police report.
The Department of Homeland Security in Grand Rapids has taken over the investigation. An investigator is working a similar case with matching circumstances and suspects.
The Pattern
This follows established IRS impersonation tactics. The FTC reports a four-fold increase in high-loss impersonation scams since 2020. Tax scam reports to Kaplan's 2025 data show a 62% year-on-year rise, with average losses of $32,000.
IRS Criminal Investigation's FY2025 report (ending September 2025) identified $10.59 billion in financial crimes, up 15.7% from FY2024. Tax fraud accounted for $4.5 billion, a 111.8% increase.
What The IRS Actually Does
The IRS does not call demanding immediate payment. It does not threaten arrest or deportation. It does not accept gift cards, wire transfers to 'lockers', or cryptocurrency.
First contact is a letter. Debt collection follows formal procedures. Payment plans exist. None of this happens via pop-up.
Client Risk
If your clients receive pop-ups, phone calls, or texts claiming to be the IRS, the answer is: hang up, close the window, verify independently. The IRS website lists legitimate contact methods. Your client's online account shows actual notices.
The weakest link remains taxpayer behaviour, particularly during filing season when urgency is weaponised. Multi-factor authentication and anomaly detection help, but so does a simple conversation about what real IRS contact looks like.