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IR-2005-136, Nov. 30, 2005
WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service today
issued a consumer alert about an Internet scam in
which consumers receive an e-mail informing them of
a tax refund. The e-mail, which claims to be from
the IRS, directs the consumer to a link that
requests personal information, such as Social
Security number and credit card information.
This
scheme is an attempt to trick the e-mail recipients
into disclosing their personal and financial data.
The practice is called “phishing” for information.
The
information fraudulently obtained is then used to
steal the taxpayer’s identity and financial assets.
Generally, identity thieves use someone’s personal
data to steal his or her financial accounts, run up
charges on the victim’s existing credit cards, apply
for new loans, credit cards, services or benefits in
the victim’s name and even file fraudulent tax
returns.
The bogus
e-mail, which claims to come from "tax-refunds@irs.gov"
tells the recipient that he or she is eligible to
receive a tax refund for a given amount. It then
says that, to access a form for the tax refund, the
recipient must use a link contained in the e-mail.
The link then asks for the personal and financial
information.
The IRS
does not ask for personal identifying or financial
information via unsolicited e-mail. Additionally,
taxpayers do not have to complete a special form to
obtain a refund.
If you
receive an unsolicited e-mail purporting to be from
the IRS, take the following steps:
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Do not open any attachments to the e-mail,
in case they contain malicious code that
will infect your computer.
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Contact the IRS at 1-800-829-1040 to
determine whether the IRS is trying to
contact you about a tax refund.
The IRS
has seen numerous attempts over the years to defraud
the public and the federal government through a
variety of schemes, including abusive tax avoidance
transactions, identity theft, claims for slavery
reparations, frivolous arguments and more. More
information on these schemes may be found on the
criminal enforcement page at IRS.gov.
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