As we get into tax season, the IRS is reminding taxpayers to be on the lookout for scam e-mails, texts, and phone calls aimed at tricking you into disclosing personal and financial information that could be used to steal your identity and financial assets.
The IRS does not send out unsolicited e-mails, phone calls or texts asking for personal information.
The IRS has seen a recent increase in these scams, many of which originate outside the United States. To date, investigations have identified sites hosting hundreds of IRS-related phishing scams. These scam websites have been found to originate in at least 20 different countries.
Scammers claiming to be from the IRS, tell you that you are due a federal tax refund, and direct you to a website that appears to be a genuine IRS site. The bogus sites contain forms or interactive web pages similar to IRS forms and web pages.
Don’t be fooled! These sites and forms have been modified to request detailed personal and financial information from the e-mail recipients. E-mail addresses involving users in professional and educational communities seem to be heavily targeted.
The information obtained is then used to steal the taxpayer identity and financial assets. Typically, identity thieves use someone’s personal data to empty the victim’s financial accounts, run up charges on the victim’s existing…
