More IRS Email Scams

I know I've covered this before but it's worth repeating, especially now. With the tax stimulus rebate checks due to start arriving in mailboxes across the US next week taxpayers are eager to get their money and unscrupulous spammers and phishers are willing to take it.

They do this with a flurry of emails with a varying degrees of believability. As I went through my emails this morning I had two. One opened with, "We are pleased to inform you that upon reviewing your fiscal activity, we have determined that you are eligible to receive a tax refund of $252.15."

That kind of specificity made me take another look although I knew that it was a fake.

There are a number of ways to spot a fake email.

First, the IRS does not email taxpayers. It's that simple. Do not believe anything that arrives in your inbox that alleges to be from the IRS. Think about it, have you ever given the IRS your email address? In the normal course of events most taxpayers haven't and the tax collecting agency most certainly does not have time to seek out this information.

Second, check the URLs. Most spammers have become sophisticated enough that they can create a fairly convincing "From" addressee but one thing they can't hide is the embedded URLs in their emails. How can you tell? Float your cursor over the hyperlinked text - the highlighted words that will take you to another website if you click on them - and look in the lower left hand corner of the screen. If you're reading your email on a web-based program the URL will appear. It will most likely not be to the address that it purports to be. For example: IRS.gov See?

Third, does the email ask for personal information? If you receive an unexpected email that claims to be from the IRS, your bank, or anywhere else and asks for any kind of information it is very likely fake.

Overall, remain skeptical.

As for those rebate checks and where yours specifically is, we here at IrsProblemsResolved.com know just as much as you do.