Pay A visit to the Phishing hole
In 2006 the IRS established an electronic mail box - phishing@ irs.gov - to receive copies of possibly fraudulent e-mails involving misuse of the IRS name, logo or Web site for investigation.
By April of last year the IRS had received more than 17,700 e-mails from taxpayers reporting more than 240 separate phishing incidents. Investigations by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration had identified host sites in at least 27 countries, plus the United States.
People receiving suspicious "IRS" e-mails should not open them, and instead forward them to phishing@ irs.gov for investigation, said Michael Devine, an IRS spokesman.
To: Everyone
From: The IRS
RE: Internet, other scams
"The IRS does not make initial contact by e-mail," said Michael Devine, an IRS spokesman. "And we never ask for personal information - such as bank account numbers, PIN numbers or credit cards. We do not do that.
"Anyone who receives one of these (messages) - whether it's an e-mail, phone call or letter - if you are concerned that it may not be someone from the IRS, the best thing to do is call us at our toll-free number, 1-800-829-1040, and ask if the IRS is trying to contact you.
"People on our end of the phone will know."
Devine, who handles community outreach and public-information efforts in Kansas, said that scammers constantly send out e-mails purporting to be from the IRS, offering supposed refunds to people instructed to click through to a false Web site - one similar to the actual IRS site, but designed to accomplish sinister purposes.
Such "phishing" expeditions can be expensive or worse.
"They could steal your money," Devine said. "They could steal your identity, or they could infect your computer and take over. Everybody needs to be careful."
One e-mail sent to some Lawrence residents this week came from "service@usa.gov," with a subject line of "Notice From IRS." The e-mail informed recipients that they were owed refunds of $93.60, and should "click here" to access the refunds online.
It's simply not genuine.
"People need to be aware, especially now that it's tax season," Devine said. "People may get something that looks real, but they have to be careful."
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