You open the mailbox and there it is: a letter from the IRS. Scammers send letters that look a lot like the real ones, and some real notices can look suspicious too. Here’s a short way to check any IRS letter, what a fake usually looks like, and what to do either way.

How the IRS actually contacts you

The IRS almost always contacts you first by mail — a letter or a notice.

It does not start contact by email or social media. It doesn’t text you unless you signed up for it. So if your first contact is a text that says “IRS refund pending, click here,” that’s your answer: it’s fake.

Phone calls generally come only after you’ve already received a letter.

The 60-second check

If it’s a paper letter, work through these four steps.

One. Look at the top right corner. A real IRS letter has a notice or letter number, like CP53E or CP14. Write it down.

Two. Do not call the number in the letter, scan a QR code, or type in a website it gives you. Not yet.

Three. Open your browser and type IRS.gov yourself. Log in to your IRS online account. If the letter is real, it’s usually there in your account.

Four. On IRS.gov, search the notice number. The IRS has pages explaining its notices and letters. If the letter asks for something that page doesn’t mention, be suspicious.

That’s it. Sixty seconds, and you know.

Red flags of a fake

Watch for these:

  • They want payment by gift card, crypto, or wire. The IRS doesn’t take gift cards. Ever.
  • They threaten you — arrest, deportation, police at your door, pay today. The IRS doesn’t leave threatening messages like that.
  • They ask for your full Social Security number or your online banking password.
  • They send you to a website that isn’t IRS.gov, through a link or a QR code.
  • The details don’t match your life: a refund you never filed for, or an amount that makes no sense.

CP53E: a real letter that can look fake

Some real letters look suspicious too. The CP53E is one.

It’s a real IRS notice. It’s sent when the IRS can’t put your refund into your bank account by direct deposit, usually because the bank details are missing, invalid, or rejected. The IRS is moving away from paper checks, so it asks you to add or fix your bank information.

The real one tells you to update it through your IRS online account. If you do nothing, the IRS will generally mail you a paper check later, which takes longer.

A fake one sends you to a website that isn’t IRS.gov, or asks for your bank login. Same rule: go to IRS.gov yourself.

If it’s real, or if it’s fake

If it’s real, don’t ignore it. Most IRS letters have a deadline, and the problem usually gets worse if you wait. Read what it asks for, and respond by the date on the letter.

If it’s fake, don’t reply. Report it using the “Report phishing” page on IRS.gov, then shred it.

And one thing to remember even if the letter is real: never pay anyone by gift card or send money to a personal account. Real IRS payments go to the U.S. Treasury, through IRS.gov or a check made out to the U.S. Treasury.