If you receive an email or text message from the IRS about a stimulus check or unemployment claim, watch out — it’s most likely a scam, the agency says. As tax season heats up, so do fraud attempts. This year, that includes potential scams related to many Covid-19 relief measures, including stimulus checks and unemployment benefits. The IRS will not …

boonchai wedmakawand | Moment | Getty Images Consumers have lost $586 million to fraud linked to the Covid-19 pandemic, according to data from the Federal Trade Commission. Americans filed more than 269,000 fraud complaints from the beginning of 2020 to Oct. 14, 2021, according to most recent federal data. (Consumers cited Covid, stimulus or related terms in the complaints.) The …