The year 2025 is almost over, and with the end of the year comes a new batch of end-of-year deadline scams, all of which could result in you losing money if you’re not careful. Below, we break down what scams you need to be aware of as the year comes to a close and share how you can protect both yourself and your wallet.
The top 3 year-end deadline scams
From fake Internal Revenue Service (IRS) calls to impressions, here are the top year-end deadline scams people need to be aware of.
IRS and tax deadline scams
One of the biggest year-end scams happening right now is a fake IRS and tax deadline. The way it works is that a fraudster will call claiming to be from the IRS. The caller will then say that you owe the IRS either extra money on your taxes or that you never paid your taxes and demand that you pay them right then and there to avoid any legal troubles.
To avoid this scam, verify with a trusted financial expert—such as an accountant or bank employee—that you actually owe the IRS money. You can also check whether you owe the IRS any money through your IRS Online Account or by contacting the IRS directly.
If you do receive one of these calls, the IRS asks you to report it to them here. This will then help them protect other people in future.
Benefits and pensions scam
Another big end-of-year scam is one involving benefits and pensions. The way it works is someone will call you claiming that you have an unclaimed benefits or pensions package that needs to be redeemed right away. The scammer will also pressure you into sharing your bank account number, which is where they claim the leftover money will go.
“They came very close to getting my father-in-law on Wednesday, but thankfully, he showed some common sense, hung up the phone and called us,” one Reddit user shared. “[It was a ]standard scam where they had accumulated some basic knowledge about my late mother-in-law and were telling him about a ‘pension’ she had accumulated and never collected and was entitled to. [They] just needed ‘his bank account information’ in order to transfer the funds to him.”
“When he told them he wanted to look into this, they tried to pressure him with ‘Well, it’s Christmas Eve, and I’m off after this, and if we don’t close this out by the end of 2025, you lose the money because it’s been X years since she passed away,’” the Reddit user continued. “I’m sure they got a lot of the information they used from the obituary that certain family members continue to repost year after year on social media.”
To protect yourself from this scam, hang up the phone and call a financial expert who has the power to see if there are actually any unused benefits or pension plans. Or you can try checking one of these official government databases:
- DOL Retirement Savings Lost and Found: This centralized database, established via the SECURE 2.0 Act, allows you to search for retirement plans linked to your Social Security number. You must verify your identity using Login.gov (requiring a photo of a state-issued ID) to access it.
- PBGC Unclaimed Pensions Search: The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) maintains a database of “missing participants” from terminated private-sector pension plans. You can search by your last name and the last four digits of your SSN.
- EBSA Abandoned Plan Search: The Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) provides a tool to find retirement plans that no longer have a sponsor or administrator.
Also, be sure not to give out any of your bank account information.
Package shipping scams
One of the last year-end scams is the package shopping one. In this one, a scammer will text you claiming that they have a package for you, but it can’t be delivered unless you share some personal information with them, something that can result in identity theft.
To protect yourself from this scam, call the shipping company and ask if they actually have a package for you. If they do, then ask to have it rerouted to the store. This will then help you avoid any future scam messages and ensure that your email actually gets there.
