News & Resources
Beware of Suspicious E-mails Supposedly from the IRS
Client Receives Phishing E-Mail
July 14, 2011
One of our clients recently asked for our help in responding to an e-mail from the IRS saying his electronic tax payment had been returned. We quickly realized this e-mail was a scam, and did not come from the IRS. The e-mail contained an official looking link to the client's "Federal Tax Transaction Report."
This is a phishing e-mail, so called because it is fishing for information that can be used to steal the assets or identity of the recipient. Phishing is a scam that sends e-mail messages to trick people into revealing personal and financial information. Do not click on any links or open attachments if you do receive a suspicious e-mail.
The IRS does not initiate contact with taxpayers by e-mail. So if you receive a suspicious e-mail claiming to be from the IRS, the IRS advises that you:
- Do not reply.
- 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 identity protection page.
- Forward the e-mail as-is, to the IRS at phishing@irs.gov.
- After you forward the e-mail and/or header information to the IRS, delete the original e-mail message you received.
The IRS website has a helpful page for taxpayers on suspicious e-mails and identity theft. It contains a list of currently known phishing schemes that use the IRS name, logo or web site clone.
Please contact our tax professionals at 877.517.6872 if you have questions about this, or any other tax issues. |
