IRS Letter 5071C scam or real: how to check an identity letter

Is my IRS identity letter a scam?

Most IRS identity letters that arrive in a mailbox are real. Return screening is common: the National Taxpayer Advocate reported more than 14 million individual returns were suspended for review in the 2026 season, for identity checks and other reasons. The risk of an IRS Letter 5071C scam is less about the paper letter and more about the texts, emails and fake phone numbers that copy its wording.

A genuine Letter 5071C says a return was filed under your SSN or ITIN and asks you to confirm it before the IRS processes it. It points you to the IRS online verification service or the Taxpayer Protection Program number on the letter. It does not threaten arrest, demand a payment, or ask you to reply to an email.

Signs of a real IRS identity verification letter

The IRS says it starts most contact through regular mail from the US Postal Service. It does not email or text you without your permission and does not start contact through social media messages. So a message on your phone that claims to be your "5071C" is a warning sign on its own.

Details worth checking on the paper letter

• The letter number, such as 5071C, 4883C, 5747C, 6331C or CP5071, and a tax year that matches a return you really filed or did not file.
• Instructions to verify at irs.gov/verifyreturn or by calling the hotline on the letter, or for a 5747C, to book an office visit.
• No request for a card number, bank login, gift card or wire transfer.
• No threat of arrest or of losing a driver's license; the IRS lists those tactics as things it never does.

Common IRS identity verification scam patterns

Scammers borrow the real letter's language because the real letter makes people anxious about their refund. These are the patterns to watch for.

IRS letter 4883C scam and 5747C scam variants

With an IRS letter 4883C scam, the thing to watch is a phone number that differs from the one on your paper letter, since the 4883C is answered by phone. With an IRS letter 5747C scam, be wary of any message saying you must pay, or follow a link, to book the office visit. A real Letter 5747C is booked through the number printed on it, with no charge.

How to confirm a letter is real, safely

The rule is simple: reach the IRS through a route you found yourself, never through a link or number inside a message you doubt.

1. Sign in to your IRS online account by typing IRS.gov into your browser. Digital copies of many IRS notices appear there.
2. Type irs.gov/verifyreturn yourself if your letter offers online verification. Do not use a QR code or link sent by text or email.
3. Compare the hotline number on your paper letter with any number you were given elsewhere. If they differ, trust neither until you check.
4. Call the IRS using a number from its official telephone assistance page and ask whether a verification letter was issued to you.
5. Read our Taxpayer Protection Program hotline guide before you call, so you know what the real line does and does not ask.

Reporting an IRS identity letter scam

• Emails: forward to [email protected], ideally as an attachment so the headers are kept.
• Texts: forward to 7726 (SPAM), then email [email protected] with the sender's number, the message, and the date and time.
• Phone calls: note the number and report the call to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration.
• Fake paper letters: report to the US Postal Service or the Federal Trade Commission at reportfraud.ftc.gov.
• Online fraud losses: the IRS also points to the Internet Crime Complaint Center at ic3.gov.

If you already answered a fake

If you gave a scammer your SSN or tax details, act the same day. Use IdentityTheft.gov for a recovery plan, and consider requesting an Identity Protection PIN, a 6-digit number without which an e-filed return under your SSN is rejected. If a real IRS identity letter later arrives for a return you did not file, say so during verification; the identity verification overview covers what follows.