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IRS Warns About Phishing Scams on the Prowl

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) receives complaints all round the year from citizens who have become victims of various Internet tax scams. For instance, recently in the 2nd week of January 2009, the IRS was reported that a local man had been targeted with a phishing fraud.

The fraud said that the man was eligible for a refund that the IRS disregarded collecting. Consequently, an e-mail message instructed the man to follow a link to a website and provide his private information.

John Harrison, Special Agent of IRS, said that the agency does not do business online, so people should be skeptical of any e-mail that claims it is from the IRS, as reported by KCJT8 on January 10, 2009.

Harrison further said that the true challenge people in general don't face is the nightmare of losing critical personal information. The IRS has analyzed several cases and found that in some cases, it takes a great deal of time - many months or even years to unravel.

In another incident, numerous people received a spoofed e-mail claiming to be sent from the IRS saying that the agency has chosen them for a stimulus fund. Therefore, they need to send their vital personal details.

Apparently, the e-mail seems genuine as its sender's address shows 'stimulus.payment@irs.gov'. It also includes an attachment to the application for the claim, and says that the user would receive a cheque rather than a direct deposit.

Also, Jesse Weller, an IRS official, said that various scams have been circulating on the Internet, as reported by ChicoER on January 11, 2009. According to Weller, people need to be careful with the number of harmful e-mail phishing frauds. She also warns that these represent actual Internet scams crafted to capture users' identity and money.

Meanwhile, IRS is urging people to resist clicking on any suspicious attachment or link. They may also forward the fraudulent messages to phishing@irs.gov as well as use the IRS helpline number to report any phishing scam.

Related article: IRS Cautions Taxpayers of Recent Email Scam

» SPAMfighter News - 1/27/2009

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