IRS Spoofed by Hackers to Steal Private Details of Taxpayer

The IRS (Internal Revenue Service) warns taxpayers against the latest wave of scams using the name of IRS in phishing and ID theft mails that have been distributed since July 2008. This year, the IRS has received reports of 1,600 phishing cases from tax payers.

Also, the most famous scams involve economic stimulus payments and tax refunds. And, these scams include mails asking for private details like PIN numbers.

Further, there are many variants of the refund fraud wherein a mail informs a user falsely that he/she is entitled to tax refund of a particular amount. The fake e-mail directs the user to download the refund claim form by clicking on a link. Also, the form asks for private details that the hackers can use to access credit card or bank details of mail recipient.

Similarly, the Economic Stimulus Payments scam includes a mail from hacker to a tax payer telling that he/she is entitled for tax refund. The mail suggests direct deposit in the savings or checking account of the tax payer. In order to get the payment, users should click on the attached link to fill in an online form within a specific date, failing to which, the mail claims, payment can be restricted. This form also asks for private and financial information.

Security researchers have called this mail as fake. The IRS never sends any e-mail regarding tax account matters to tax payers. Moreover, they do not talk about account matters with tax payers through mail, and does not ask for security-related private information.

Security experts also inform that these mails seem to have come from IRS.gov email address. It addresses the recipient with its name and the company for which he works. These supposedly authentic details force the recipient to trust the mail.

Commissioner of IRS, Doug Shulman said that the tax payers should safeguard their private details from cyber crooks. He also added that the guidelines include not getting fall to the fake mails which seem to have appeared from the IRS, as reported by Identity Theft daily on September 29, 2008.

Related article: IRS Cautions Taxpayers of Recent Email Scam

» SPAMfighter News - 01-10-2008

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