Hello All,
I’ve put this in my newsletters and website for years, but just got a phone
call from a client whose identity was compromised when he opened an
email that said it was from the IRS and answered some questions.
As I’ve stated before, the IRS does not generally contact taxpayers via
email. Never, never open them. Read below – this is right from the
Internal Revenue Service’s mouth.
Don’t be Scammed by Cyber Criminals
The Internal Revenue Service receives thousands of reports each
year from taxpayers who receive suspicious emails, phone calls,
faxes or notices claiming to be from the IRS. Many of these scams
fraudulently use the IRS name or logo as a lure to make the com-
munication appear more authentic and enticing. The goal of these
scams – known as phishing – is to trick you into revealing your personal
and financial information. The scammers can then use your information
– like your Social Security number, bank account or credit card numbers
– to commit identity theft or steal your money.
Here are five things the IRS wants you to know about phishing scams.
1. The IRS never asks for detailed personal and financial information
like PIN numbers, passwords or similar secret access information for
credit card, bank or other financial accounts.
2. The IRS does not initiate contact with taxpayers by email to request
personal or financial information. If you receive an e-mail from someone
claiming to be the IRS or directing you to an IRS site:
•Do not reply to the message.
•Do not open any attachments. Attachments may contain malicious code that
•will infect your computer.
•Do not click on any links. If you clicked on links in a suspicious e-mail
•or phishing website and entered confidential information, visit the IRS
•website and enter the search term ‘identity theft’ for more information
•and resources to help.
3. The address of the official IRS website is www.irs.gov. Do not
be confused or misled by sites claiming to be the IRS but ending in
.com, .net, .org or other designations instead of .gov. If you discover
a website that claims to be the IRS but you suspect it is bogus, do
not provide any personal information on the suspicious site and report
it to the IRS.
4. If you receive a phone call, fax or letter in the mail from an individual
claiming to be from the IRS but you suspect they are not an IRS
employee, contact the IRS at 1-800-829-1040 to determine if the
IRS has a legitimate need to contact you. Report any bogus corres-
pondence. You can forward a suspicious email to phishing@irs.gov.
5. You can help shut down these schemes and prevent others from
being victimized. Details on how to report specific types of scams
and what to do if you’ve been victimized are available at www.irs.gov.
Click on “phishing” on the home page.
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If in doubt about anything you receive from the IRS, you should
always call me first and obey the above guidelines.
Thank you, Bob
Robert W Craig, E.A. Tax and Business Services (“Like” us on Facebook)
1444 Aarhus Drive, Solvang CA 93463
Telephone: (805) 264-3305
Email: rcraig1044@aol.com
