Guard Against Tax Scams

Posted March 28th, 2008 by NFAN
in

Every tax season is ripe with new and old tax scams and we’ll cover a few of those here. But first, here are two rules you can always take to heart:

1.      The IRS never sends email correspondence. If you receive an email claiming to be from the IRS with information about a refund or payment, it is a scam. The IRS never sends taxpayers unsolicited emails. The only emails the IRS sends are general tax information for all taxpayers, not specific personal information about your refund.  

Here’s an example of a fraudulent email:

Subject: Tax Notification

Internal Revenue Service (IRS)
United States Department of the Treasury

After the last annual calculations of your fiscal
activity we have determined that you are eligible
to receive a tax refund of $184.80.

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,
use the following personalized link: (link)

Regards,
Internal Revenue Service

2.      The IRS website is www.IRS.gov.

This is important because scammers can create legitimate-seeming websites with similar addresses using variations or common misspellings of the name as the domain name. Unknowing taxpayers visit these fraudulent sites and enter their personal information believing they are contacting the IRS.

Here are a few other tax scams the IRS identifies as the most common:

  • Rebate Phone Call
    This is when someone pretending to be from the IRS calls to inform you that you’re eligible for a large rebate for filing your taxes early. The scammer will claim to need your bank account information for direct deposit. The truth is that the IRS does not require taxpayers to use direct deposit and they do not call to collect direct deposit information by phone.
  • Refund Email, Audit Email, or Criminal Investigation Email
    Like the example above, the refund email tells about a tax refund for a specific amount, asks you to follow a link, which will prompt you to enter your bank account information. If you think you might be owed a refund go to www.IRS.gov and click on “Where’s My Refund?”
  • The Audit email uses similar tactics except it scares taxpayers into clicking the provided link by threatening an audit. Similarly, the Criminal Investigation email scares taxpayers into clicking the link by making them think they are under investigation.
  • Most of these emails will address you as “Dear Taxpayer” or something general, but even emails that do use your name should not be answered. Also, do not click the provided link or open any attachments. Even if you don’t intend to provide your information, the link may release a virus which can take over your computer.
  • Paper Check Call
    In this scam the caller also pretends to be from the IRS. The scammer will tell you the IRS sent you your refund check and noticed that it hasn’t been cashed, so the caller wants to verify your account information. In reality the IRS does not care if you ever cash your refund check. Never give away your account information to someone who contacts you over the phone.

For more information about tax scams, check out this resource: How to Protect Yourself from Suspicious Emails or Phishing Schemes. You can also forward suspicious emails to phishing@irs.gov.