IRS Cautions Taxpayers of Phishing Scam

The IRS cautioned on August 27, 2010 that fake e-mails were targeting taxpayers based on the claim that the agency had rejected their 'returns filing' submitted online.

The scam reportedly, aimed at taxpayers who paid federal taxes through the EFTPS (Electronic Federal Tax Payment System). States the IRS that approximately 9.5m consumers and businesses file their returns through the EFTPS, which is a costless mechanism to submit taxes over the phone or via the Internet. It therefore is quite evident that innumerable people can become victimized with the scam.

Paradoxically, the fake electronic mails further lead users, filing taxes, onto an Internet site, which contains malicious software capable of infecting PCs.

Said Michael Devine, spokesman for IRS, since a huge population prepares its taxes that are filed electronically, there could be an incorrect assumption on its part that the IRS would e-mail to those people over the Net regarding their taxes. KirksvilleDailyExpress.com published this on August 27, 2010.

But, according to Devine, the IRS didn't ever dispatch uninvited e-mails regarding citizens' taxes.

Moreover, the IRS cautions everyone, who gets an e-mail, which appears as a message from the agency alternatively seems suspicious and asks the user to access a given URL for extra details, not to answer the message as well as not access any embedded web-link or submit the details asked. Instead that e-mail recipient must forward the message to the Internal Revenue Service at phishing@irs.gov.

Explaining further, Devine states that when the IRS first contacts a taxpayer it sends him a postal letter, giving contact details in addition to describing the situation.

Meanwhile, as per the security researchers, scammers have a high preference for targeting the IRS. On March 20, 2010, an electronic mail supposedly from IRS stated that a tax re-imbursement was due for the recipient.

However, the IRS didn't send that e-mail and the re-imbursement was simply a lure to get users to divulge their financial and other personal details. Anyone who clicked the embedded web-link was led onto a fraudulent site that imitating the actual IRS site asked him to furnish his private details, including credit card information.

Related article: IRS Cautions Taxpayers of Recent Email Scam

» SPAMfighter News - 9/1/2010