Montana Revenue Department Warns Citizens about Scam Emails

Krtv.com reported on 25th April, 2014 stating that The Montana Department of Revenue, Montana's (US) state agency which collects taxes from taxpaying individuals of the state, is warning people about scam emails which might harm computer systems and steal identities and financial information.

Taxpayers are receiving email messages with different subjects and one of them says that they owe money to Montana department of Revenue.

Krtv.com published news on 25th April, 2014 quoting Mike Kadas, Director of Revenue Department, as saying "We consider these scams as serious threats to the public and we assure people that we are being vigilant and taking necessary steps to advise public on time about these threats."

The scam emails do not contain any phone numbers or mailing addresses of Montana.

The department never contacts customers through email; all notifications regarding any demand of money would be sent on the letterhead of Montana Revenue Department through U.S. Postal Service.

Officials were alerted about the scam on Thursday, 24th April, 2014 when the call center started receiving calls about this scam from people in and out of the state.

Unfortunately, it is not only Montana Department of Revenue but also Internal Revenue System or IRS, national tax collecting agency of USA, is regularly asking taxpayers to be careful of such tax-themed scam emails.

IRS commented that just because 15th April (2014) is deadline for filing tax returns for most taxpayers, it does not mean that tax-related scams will slow down after the tax season as there is no deadline for tax scammers.

According to IRS, more than 90% of Americans currently file their taxes electronically. Computers have expedited the procedures regarding tax return but security experts warn that it becomes risky to store your personal data regarding tax.

Cnbc.com published news on 18th April, 2014 quoting Roel Schouwenberg, Principal Security Researcher of Kaspersky Lab as saying "Tax returns are a treasure trove consisting everything which someone needs to steal yours and your spouse's identity and these can be easily stolen."

IRS advised that in case you have become the victim of identity theft, you should contact the IRS Identity Protection Specialized Unit at 800-908-4490, extension 245.

» SPAMfighter News - 5/5/2014