New IRS Email Scam Reaching Your Inbox

The Wall Street Journal reports that hackers are imitating the IRS by sending fake emails to the victims, asking to pay remaining health coverage balances for 2014. The fake emails pretend as the CP-2000 notice from IRS, a notice send by the agency to the taxpayers whose income or payment declaration doesn't match with their declared information in their tax returns. The report states that in the phishing email scheme, scam emails inform victims that they owe a balance towards Affordable Care Act health coverage requirements.

This scam is most recent twist in epidemic of scam targeting the taxpayers. As per the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, which is a watchdog of IRS, it has already received complaints over 1.7 million from people who have reported about phone calls of fraudsters posing as IRS agents from October 2013. Wsj.com posted on September 29th, 2016, that in excess of 8,800 victims have already paid over $47 million due to these scams."

IRS is attempting to reduce the rate of victims' response to the following scams by again reminding the taxpayers that it never asks for financial or personal information via email, text or phone; nor it call regarding taxes payable without mailing the bill first.

The forged notice cleverly uses similar typefaces and languages as used in genuine IRS letters. It asks to make the payment to PO Box in "Austin Processing Center", where the IRS has a huge processing center. The forged notice informs victim to have the cheque in favor of "I.R.S.", instead of the U.S.Treasury which is the genuine payee.

One customer of Manasa Nadig, enrolled agent preparing taxes in Canton, Mich., has received similar letter demanding $795 in the mid-August. She said that, "it almost fooled me, until I checked it out".

The IRS recommend individuals who owe taxes or think they might to hang up on fraudsters demanding payment and call the IRS at 800-829-1040. Individuals receiving such type of phishing emails must never reply to such messages, open any attachments, or click on the links. As per the report, agency further asks people to forward such email to the phishing@irs.gov and finally delete it.

» SPAMfighter News - 10/5/2016