IRS Tax Scam Continues Even After Tax Filing Deadline Gets Over

Although the last date for filing taxes i.e. April 15, 2010 has passed, still the Internal Revenue Service cautioned taxpayers on May 10, 2010 of online scammers who were distributing e-mails that appeared official but attempted at phishing users off personal details.

Reportedly, the phishing e-mails talk about tax-reviews, which lead to a tax refund. They admonish that an investigation/audit will be conducted in case the recipient (taxpayer) doesn't reply. Phishing, according to the security researchers, is carried out to deceive e-mail recipients into divulging their financial or other personal information.

Said Michael Devine, Spokesman for IRS, as numerous people prepared and submitted their returns online; it was likely that they incorrectly presumed that the IRS would e-mail to them regarding taxes. St. Louis Globe Democrat published this on May 10, 2010.

Devine further stated that IRS doesn't ever dispatch unsolicited e-mails to citizens regarding their taxes. Says the agency, when it first contacts a taxpayer, it normally sends a notice/letter via mail describing the situation while providing the contact information.

Hence, Devine cautioned everyone receiving the fake e-mails that they mustn't click on any attachment as it might carry malware.

Meanwhile, according to the security researchers, a fraudulent, phishing e-mail is reaching many people's inboxes. It's at this time that scammers attempt at stealing users' private details by talking of a tax reimbursement that the user is supposedly entitled to.

Similar to this situation, Lori Underwood in East Hanover (Pennsylvania, USA) got a message in her mailbox stating that she'd receive a $437 tax-reimbursement although the tax day got over in April 2010.

Ms. Underwood narrated that the e-mail had the typical blue masthead of IRS. Consequently, she thought that probably a tax refund she wasn't aware of was awaiting her, as like the majority of Americans, she wasn't fully certain regarding tax codes, she said, as per the news reported by abc27NEWS on May 11, 2010.

Moreover, according to Underwood, the e-mail sought various kinds of personal details, especially the routing number of the bank account she owned.

Thus, to remain safe, it's recommended that users must ignore all links embedded in e-mails originating from unknown sources.

Related article: IRS Cautions Taxpayers of Recent Email Scam

» SPAMfighter News - 5/26/2010