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.

More On Tax Refund Scams

A few weeks ago I mentioned email scams that were attempting to imatate the IRS in order to trick US taxpayers into turning over valuable persanol information. Well, today I actually received one of these for myself. I though that I'd share it with you so you'll know what to be on the lookout for.

The sender listed on the message was "Internal Revenue Service (IRS)." That's certainly enough to get one's attention. When I looked closer, though, that actual email address had nothing to do with the IRS.

The subject line was "Tax Refund!" An exclamation point from the IRS? There's another tipoff that this is phony.

The body of the message read as follows:

After the last annual calculations of your fiscal activity we have determined that you are eligible to receive a tax refund of $116.40. Please submit the tax refund request and allow us 6-9 days in order to process it.

A refund can be delayed for a variety of reasons. For example submitting invalid records or applying after the deadline.


To access the form for your tax refund, please:
Click Here


Thank you for your patience in this matter.

Regards, Internal Revenue Service

Please do not reply to this e-mail as this is only a notification. Mail sent to this address cannot be answered.



© Copyright 2007 Internal Revenue Service U.S.A.

There was only one link in the message and it was on the words "Click here." When I floated my cursor over it, the web address had nothing to do with the IRS. Clearly this was a fake.

Internet Scammers Imitate IRS

I’ve mentioned issues with the IRS’s computer system being potentially vulnerable to hackers - IRS Criticized and Hackable IRS. But a perhaps more insidious problem for taxpayers and computer users lies in sites and email scams that are designed to fool the average citizen into thinking that he or she is dealing with the actual Internal Revenue Service.

The scams and tricks these internet pirates use are pretty familiar to anyone who’s been paying attention to such issues. One reported on phillyburbs.com describes a site designed to look like the IRS’s. It doesn’t take too much skill to steal logo designs and general web layouts today. Victims are often lured to these types of sites through an email, usually one that offers money. The IRS is a particularly good entity to base this scam on because most US citizens have received some sort of refund from them at some time in the past and would like to do so again. Once the victim lands on the fake webpage they are asked for such things as social security numbers, bank accounts, and credit card numbers – all things that the scammers can use to steal money from the victim.

Another scam, described on MSNBC’s website, tells the victim that the IRS is willing to pay them for their opinion. It doesn’t take a particularly suspicious mind to see through that one.

There are a few rules of thumb that you can exercise to protect yourself from such scams that appear to be from the IRS or anyone.

First, always consider the source. On the internet the source is the URL. If the website you’re looking at doesn’t have irs.gov in the base URL, chances are it’s a scam.

Second, don’t trust the “from” email address. It’s pretty easy to fake that line in an email. If there are hyperlinks in the email – blue text that you can click on to go to a website – DO NOT click on it. Rather float your cursor over it and look in the lower left hand corner of your screen. There you will see the real URL source of the email.

Third, always be skeptical. Even if the email and website seem to check out, it’s better to be safe than sorry. Open a fresh browser and try to find the same information at the main IRS page - http://www.irs.gov/.

Fourth, seek professional help. I’m not suggesting that you have mental health issues. I don’t know you. I’m suggesting that you seek out an accountant or other financial professional that you trust and ask them if the claims you’re considering are legitimate.

Fifth, report everything. Hackers, scammer, phishers and other internet pirates will always be with us but the more that get reported, the fewer victims will be created.