Tax season opens today and it’s not just Internal Revenue Service (IRS) that’s ready… the scammers are, too.
With tax season set to open in a few hours, I received the following email:
In case you can’t read the text of the email, it says:
Tax Notification
Internal Revenue Service (IRS)
United States Department of the Treasury
Date: 01/28/2008
After the last annual calculations of your fiscal
activity we have determined that you are eligible
to receive a tax refund of $134.80.
Please submit the tax refund request and allow us
6-9 days in order to process it.
A refund can be delayed for a variety of reasons.
For example submitting invalid records or applying
after the deadline.
To access the form for your tax refund, click here.
Regards,
Internal Revenue Service
Document Reference: (92054568).
There’s a lot in the email that should tip you off that it’s a scam – not the least of which is that it’s inexplicably dated 1/28/2008 (maybe they’re recycling an old scam email, hoping you won’t notice). Here are a few more clues:
- The IRS is not going to contact you via email about your refund.
- The IRS does not calculate your tax refund based on your “fiscal activity.”
- The grammar and sentence structure is appalling. The folks at IRS are smarter than that.
Scammers are hoping that you’ll click on links in these kinds of emails and offer up your personal and financial information. The email links may also allow the scammers to install malware or other malicious software on your computer in order to capture your personal and financial information. Don’t click on the links and simply delete the email.
Don’t fall for the tricks this tax season. If you receive an email or phone call and you genuinely believe that IRS is attempting to contact you, give them a call at 1.800.829.1040 to find out more information. If you’re looking for information about the status of your refund, use the IRS “Where’s My Refund?” tool.
And remember, due to concerns over these scams and identity theft-related tax refund fraud, the IRS and some states are implementing additional security measures which could slow down tax refunds and other processes. Plan ahead – especially if you need access to tax transcripts and other information this tax season.
