Texas Refund Status Scam - How to Protect Yourself

How the Texas Refund Scam Works

1. The Message: You receive an urgent text or email claiming your "tax refund request has been processed and approved."
2. The Bait: It states you must submit your payment or banking info within a tight deadline or your refund will be "forfeited."
3. The Trap: The message provides a malicious link and instructs you to reply, click, or copy the link into your browser. Doing so exposes your device to malware or leads to a fake form that harvests your data.

How to Check Your Legitimate Status Safely

If you are expecting an actual tax refund or want to check for state-held funds, never use links sent in a message. Instead, use these official resources:

• For Unclaimed Property/Refunds: Texas processes all official state refunds and unclaimed property exclusively through the Texas Unclaimed Property Portal. Searching is entirely free, and the state will only issue payments via physical USPS mail checks—never through direct deposit links, wires, or digital transfers.
• For State Taxes: Navigate directly to the official Texas Comptroller Website to review your account status safely.

What to Do If You Received a Message

• Do not reply, click any links, or open attachments.
• Report the scam by forwarding text messages to 7726 (SPAM) and emailing a screenshot or details of the message to the state at stop.spoofing@cpa.texas.gov.
• If you already clicked a link or shared information: Immediately change your online banking passwords, run a malware scan on your device, and report potential identity theft to the Federal Trade Commission through FTC Identity Theft.