Every tax year there is a flood of “IRS TAX” Scams/phishing/malware attempts sent to Americans from all over the world. Â First of all the IRS does not care enough to tell you anything except to give them money by Snail Mail.
If you receive any scams/phishing or malware report it:Â http://www.irs.gov/uac/Report-Phishing
The IRS doesn’t initiate contact with taxpayers by email, text messages or social media channels to request personal or financial information. This includes requests for PIN numbers, passwords or similar access information for credit cards, banks or other financial accounts.
What is phishing?
Phishing is a scam typically carried out through unsolicited email and/or websites that pose as legitimate sites and lure unsuspecting victims to provide personal and financial information.
Report all unsolicited email claiming to be from the IRS or an IRS-related function tophishing@irs.gov. Recent scams have used the Electronic Federal Tax Payment System (EFTPS) to attract potential victims. Â Also, if you’ve experienced any monetary losses due to an IRS-related incident, please report it to the Treasury Inspector General Administration (TIGTA) and file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) through their Complaint Assistant to make the information available to investigators.
NOTE: Please refer to Contact the IRS if you have a tax question not related to phishing or identity theft.
Example of IRS Tax Email Scam/Malware
SUBJECT: IRS Notification
Attachment: Â IRS Tax Return (Registration Form).html – malware detected
The IRS is currently reviewing tax payers information in our database.
This review covers all those that have filed for their 2015 tax refunds
and those that are yet to file. Updating our systems becomes necessary
as an added protection against computing errors and misrepresentation.A document is attached to this message containing the registration form with
all neccessary fields, (*) means field is required.It is vital you carefully fill out all necessary fields as it applies to you.
More importantly, it is mandatory to fill all required fields on this form.You are not required to take any further action after filling and submitting this form via the link provided.
Thank you.
