Bogus IRS Email Turns More Sophisticated
Here we go again.
About two weeks ago, I reported that a new version of bogus IRS email was making the rounds with a notice about EINs and Home-care Service Recipients. Now, there’s another version – and this one may trap a few unsuspecting taxpayers since the wording is a bit more sophisticated than prior efforts.
The header on the new version of the bogus emails is “Tax Return” or “Your Tax Return.” The emails in my inbox purport to come from IRS: Internal Revenue Service . However, as before, those addresses are spoofed. If you have a decent spam filter, it will probably catch it as the email comes from “an illegal email address” using a “suspicious hostname” according to Spam Assassin.
The emails say:
Notice ID: IJMXZZUK615
Notice: CP01H
Tax year: 2011
Notice date: Sun, 9 Oct 2011 12:02:54 +0700
Page 1 of 1Important information about your tax return
We are unable to process your tax returnWe received your tax return. However, we are unable to process the return as filed.
Our records indicate that the person identified as the primary taxpayer or spouse on the tax return was deceased prior to the tax year shown on the tax form. Our records are based on information received from the Social Security Administration.
Based on this information, the tax account for this individual has been locked.What you need to do
Visit review page on irs.gov
Keep this notice for your records.Department of Treasury
Internal Revenue Service
Here’s why it’s tricky… There really is a Notice CP01H. And it really does apply to taxpayers with tax returns that cannot be processed because of information about a deceased taxpayer obtained from the Social Security Administration. So it would be easy to get sucked in to believing that the email is really from IRS and was just a mistake.
But don’t fall for the scam.
There are a couple of things that should alert you to the fact that it’s a scam. The first is that returns for the 2011 tax year aren’t due yet. Returns for 2011 are due in 2012 – so you haven’t yet filed that return.
Second, and most important, the IRS will never send an unsolicited e-mail about your tax account or tax matters. Ever.
The purpose of the email is to get you to click on the link in the email. Don’t do it. The link likely contains a virus that could infect your computer or direct you to a site in order to steal your identity or otherwise access your financial information. You can simply delete the email of you can send it to phishing@irs.gov for investigation.
If you have questions about your tax return, call the IRS directly (1.800.829.1040) or contact your tax professional.
