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What to do if…
you receive a letter demanding payment for an official filing you did not submit

Produced and maintained by PanicStation.org Published: Last reviewed: Editorial policy USA guide

Short answer

Do not pay, scan, click, or share personal details until you verify the notice through an official website or account you find yourself. Treat the letter as unverified until the real agency confirms whether it is genuine and whether it belongs to you.

Do not do these things

  • Do not call a number, scan a QR code, click a link, or use a payment route from the letter before verification.
  • Do not pay with gift cards, prepaid cards, cryptocurrency, wire transfer, or any rushed method demanded by the letter.
  • Do not give your Social Security number, bank details, login codes, or ID copies to an unverified person or website.
  • Do not ignore the letter completely; first check whether it is genuine, misdirected, or connected to identity theft.
  • Do not throw away the letter or envelope; keep them together and do not write on the originals.

What to do now

  1. Mark the letter as unverified. Put it somewhere safe. Your task right now is only to check whether it is real and connected to you.
  2. Record the details without engaging. Photograph or scan the letter and envelope. Write down the agency name, notice number, reference number, amount, date on the letter, deadline, return address, website, phone number, and payment instructions.
  3. Check the agency through a route you find yourself.
    • If it claims to be from the IRS, type IRS.gov yourself and use the IRS pages for notices, letters, online accounts, and scam checks.
    • If it claims to be from a state agency, court, licensing board, unemployment agency, or Secretary of State, type the official state website yourself and use the contact details published there.
    • Do not use the contact details in the letter until you have matched them against an official government website.
  4. Look for a real record tied to you.
    • For an IRS notice, check your IRS Online Account if you have one; it can show balances, payments, tax records, and many digital notices.
    • For a business or corporate filing, search the official state business registry for your name or business name.
    • For a court, licensing, unemployment, or state tax filing, ask the official agency to verify the notice number and whether it is connected to your identity or business.
  5. If the notice may involve identity theft, take one identity-protection step.
    • Use IdentityTheft.gov to make an FTC identity theft report and recovery plan.
    • If someone may be opening credit or accounts in your name, place an initial fraud alert by contacting one of the three major credit bureaus, or place a credit freeze by contacting all three.
  6. If it looks like an IRS, Treasury, or tax impersonation scam, report the electronic parts through official routes.
    • Use IRS reporting guidance for fake IRS, Treasury, or tax-related emails, texts, QR-code links, websites, or other electronic messages.
    • You can also use the U.S. Department of the Treasury scam-attempt reporting page for Treasury-related impersonation concerns.
  7. If you already paid or shared information, act on the parts that can still be limited.
    • Contact your bank, card issuer, payment app, or wire-transfer provider using the official number in your app, on your card, or on its website.
    • Change passwords for any account you exposed, starting with email, banking, tax, and government accounts.
    • Keep receipts, screenshots, emails, texts, envelopes, tracking numbers, and call notes.

What can wait

  • You do not need to prove the whole story today; first confirm whether the notice is real.
  • You do not need to pay today just because the letter uses urgent wording; record any deadline and verify it with the real agency.
  • You do not need to decide today whether to hire a lawyer, tax professional, or accountant unless a verified deadline is very close or the real agency tells you action is due soon.
  • You do not need to respond to every threat in the letter before checking whether the sender is genuine.

Important reassurance

Official-looking letters can be real, mistaken, or fake. Slowing down is not avoidance; it is the safest way to avoid paying a scammer, giving away personal details, or accepting responsibility for a filing that may not be yours.

Scope note

These are first steps to verify the notice, protect your information, and avoid irreversible mistakes. If the notice is confirmed as genuine, the next step may depend on the agency, the filing type, the deadline, and whether identity theft is involved.

Important note

This is general information, not legal, financial, tax, or professional advice. Procedures vary by agency and state. Use independently found official contact details before paying, sharing personal information, or agreeing that you owe anything.

Additional Resources

Closely connected guides that may be useful during the same situation or its immediate aftermath.

About this guide

This guide was produced and is maintained by PanicStation.org using its published editorial process. Official and specialist sources are checked where relevant, and AI-assisted tools may be used for drafting, organisation, and consistency checks. The site operator remains responsible for publication, revision, and removal decisions.

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