Name of IRS Being Abused by Scammers in Internet-based Tax-Themed Scams

Sknvibes.com reported on 14th November, 2013 stating that the Embassy of United States of America in Barbados, Eastern Caribbean and the OECS (Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States) alerts the public about an Internet scam purporting to be from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), official tax collecting agency of US, which has resurfaced.

The fraudsters, posing as an IRS representative, sent a scam email to individuals informing them that if they are awaiting a refund from IRS, they can check the progress of the refund by clicking on a link attached with the email.

The link directs individuals to a website which requests personal information like Social Security Numbers (SSN) and details of Credit Card. IRS warned that the website may also attempt to infect your system with malicious code.

The IRS persuades tax-payers to be alert of such email scams and phone that exploit its name as bait. The IRS doesn't get in touch with tax-payers via email, SMSs or other any other types of social media for personal or monetary information and it also doesn't ask for passwords, PINs, or other private details of bank, credit card, or other monetary accounts. The IRS said that tax-payers must not open any attached files or click links associated with the message.

In fact, if someone, claiming to be from IRS (like in the above case), sends an email or calls or makes some threats like police arrest, deportation or revocation of license or shows some kind of urgency then, it is not the handiwork of IRS.

Danny Werfel, IRS's Acting Commissioner noted that initial contact with tax-payers is generally via regular mail, as published by Cpapracticeadvisor.com on 11 November, 2013.

Anyone who receives a suspicious email can forward the same to phishing@irs.gov.

Finally, it is not just IRS's name which has been exploited by scammers in a tax-themed scam email as the same has happened with CRA (Canada Revenue Agency), Inland Revenue, the revenue collection department of New Zealand, Her Majesty's Revenue & Customs HMRC or UK's taxing agency and the Income Tax Department (ITO) or taxing agency of India.

» SPAMfighter News - 11/26/2013