The Internal Revenue Service issued a memo last month that said victims of certain impersonation and investment schemes might be eligible for a tax break.

Victims of sophisticated online scams are often dealt a double whammy. Not only is their money forever gone, but these stolen sums often generate giant tax bills when the funds are emptied from taxable retirement accounts.

Many of these victims are often left wondering what sort of recourse they might have. Tax regulators recently provided some answers, clearing the way for more victims to seek a tax break on more solid footing.

In a memorandum released on March 14, the Internal Revenue Service’s Office of Chief Counsel described which types of scams might qualify for tax relief, which included many investment schemes and some types of impersonation fraud. But it still excludes victims of other widespread digital crimes, including kidnapping schemes, for example, and romance-related fraud that did

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