They sold you a shelter.

Ad: “Invest in our conservation / historic easement partnership — buy a large charitable deduction / get multiple dollars of write-off for every dollar you put in / eliminate most of your tax.” IRS conservation easements: syndicated conservation easement (SCE) transactions have been used to generate inflated tax deductions; the IRS flags promoter-driven structuring, inflated appraisals, and promised deductions that far outstrip the economics of the investment; a bipartisan Senate Finance Committee report called them “retail tax shelters” and a “Dollar Machine” that promised investors two dollars back from the federal government for every dollar paid to promoters; Tax Court has, on average, allowed about 6% of the claimed deduction and imposed a 40% gross valuation misstatement penalty; Eleventh Circuit (March 2026) affirmed reductions and penalties in a case involving more than $36.9 million in claimed deductions. Distinct from Issue 11 fake-charity donation pitches — this row is the easement / inflated-appraisal shelter product. Leave deduction dollars blank unless your own qualified contribution and appraisal support them.

Ad / letter: “Register for the IRS Digital Asset Compliance Portal before the deadline — scan this QR code, enter wallet / exchange credentials, and verify your crypto.” IRS Criminal Investigation fraud alert (July 30, 2026) and IRS Tax scams: fraudsters mail fake IRS letters that mimic IRS.gov and instruct recipients to enroll in a nonexistent “Digital Asset Compliance Portal”; the IRS did not send those letters and does not operate a Digital Asset Compliance Portal; do not respond, do not scan the QR code, never share wallet recovery phrases or private keys; report at IRS.gov/submitatip. Leave portal fees blank — the real IRS does not run this portal.

Ad: “We’ll get you a bigger refund than anyone else — fee is a percentage of the refund / cash only / we prepare it but you file unsigned / deposit goes to our account.” IRS Topic 254 and IRS choosing a tax professional: anyone paid to prepare federal returns must have a valid PTIN, must sign the return, and must include the PTIN; avoid preparers who base fees on a percentage of the refund or who offer to deposit all or part of the refund into their financial accounts; never sign a blank or incomplete return; not signing is a red flag for unethical “ghost” preparers (also Dirty Dozen 2026 #8). You remain responsible for every item on the return. Leave refund dollars blank unless your own records support them.

Ad / text: “Your unemployment claim is ready — click this state workforce link to claim benefits / debit card,” or “You got Form 1099-G for UI you never filed — ignore it / we fix your taxes for a fee.” FTC (Feb 17, 2026): a letter about unemployment benefits you didn’t file is identity theft — report to your employer, your state workforce agency, and IdentityTheft.gov; consider an IRS Identity Protection PIN. IRS unemployment identity theft: unexpected agency mail, Form 1099-G for benefits you didn’t receive, or employer notices about a claim in your name are victim signals; file reporting only income you actually received; DOJ has warned of fake websites mimicking state unemployment sites that harvest personal data via spam texts/emails. Leave benefit dollars blank.

Ad: “SSA: activate your cost-of-living / benefit increase — click / call to verify, change direct deposit, or pay a processing fee so the raise posts.” SSA OIG: unexpected offers from “SSA” to activate a benefit increase are from criminals, not the real SSA; do not share personal or financial information; do not click links; criminals falsely advise people to apply for benefits or extra money such as a COLA, or to set up an online account. Distinct from Issue 5’s premature invented COLA percentage and Issue 10’s prize/direct-deposit redirect — this row is the “activate / unlock the increase” helper pitch. Real COLA adjustments do not require a fee or an unsolicited activation. Leave increase dollars blank unless SSA’s own notice states them.

Ad: “Consolidate your federal student loans / switch IDR plans through us — upfront or monthly fee / we handle StudentAid for you / send your login.” StudentAid.gov scam guidance: you can work with your loan servicer free of charge; ED and loan servicers can help you lower payments, consolidate multiple federal student loans, switch to a new repayment plan, or see if you qualify for forgiveness — without a private fee; companies that request an up-front or monthly fee while promising fast results are the scam pattern; ED and partners will never ask for your StudentAid.gov username and password. Distinct from Issue 5 forgiveness-before-discontinued fees and Issue 10 SAVE-enroll pitches — this row is paid consolidation / repayment-switch help. Leave fee dollars blank — the agency path is free.