No matter how hot it is outside, nothing sends a chill down a person's back like the prospect of receiving a notice from the IRS. In truth, most of the notices these days are fairly bland, either an indication you owe a bit more in tax or are due a refund that you otherwise were unaware of. Regardless, most people will open such notices because nobody wants to blow off the IRS. That can only lead to trouble down the line.
Email scam artist focus their efforts on trying to get gullible people to respond to their various nefarious efforts. Obviously, they have realized that most people are sensitive to communications from the IRS. In email terms, this means people will more likely than not open the emails to at least read them. In a number of instances, unwise individuals will actually respond to the alleged IRS communication. Given this scenario, it is surprising that there aren't more scam emails coming out using the IRS name.
The latest scam going around involves the electronic tax payment system. The system was setup by the IRS to allow people to pay taxes online, which is convenient. Frankly, it has been a smashing success. Alas, the scammers have figured out a way to use it to their benefit.
The scam works like this. You get an email from the ?Antifraud? division of the IRS. The email states that someone has tried to you a tax number assigned to you and deposited cash in the account. The IRS has then frozen the money, but you can get it back by clicking on the provided link. The page that pops up then asks you to verify your identity by providing a lot of sensitive personal information the scammer can use to steal your identity. Yes, we are talking identity theft here.
If you know anything about the IRS, the scam is a bit ambitious. First, there is no ?Antifraud? division at the IRS. Second, the IRS never sends email to taxpayers, not even during an audit. NEVER! Third, why would someone steal a tax identification number and then deposit money to the IRS using it? Criminals are stupid, but come on!
Here is the simple rule you should keep in mind to avoid this and all other scam emails using the IRS name. They are ALL frauds. The IRS never sends email to taxpayers. Let me repeat that. The IRS never sends email to taxpayers. Anything you receive in your inbox that purports to be from the IRS is not legitimate. Learn it, live it, love it!
