Ugh.
Now that tax season is in full swing, the spammers and schemers are out in force. I received four emails today alone purporting to be from the Internal Revenue Service, all of which were spam. Most of them were rehashed emails (of the “canceled by your banking institution” variety, asking for new banking information).
One, however, was new to me this season: “Income Tax Refund NOT ACCEPTED.” It’s clearly a fake email.
There are a million reasons why it’s a fake. The sender’s address is silly (<grenobleew1@informer.irs.gov>); the grammar is poor; the timing is European (16:30, really?); the image is warped and my favorite: it’s allegedly from the Internal Revemue (yes, with an “m”) Service with a nonsensical address.
But the biggest tip-off of all that it’s a fake? The IRS doesn’t initial taxpayer contact about refunds, direct debits, or any other financial transactions via email.
The information in the headers offers confirmation that this is a trick to get you to turn over your financial information or to click through a series of links that likely contain malware or spyware which can be harmful to your computer and used to steal your identity. The sender’s IP address is from Tehran, Iran, and it’s listed on the Realtime URI and Barracuda blacklists.
Clearly, the spammers are hoping that you won’t read the email carefully and you’ll just click through. Please don’t. I know that you want your refund as quickly as possible. But in your zeal to get your money, don’t lose your head. Be smart.
If you see an email like this, hit delete. You can also forward it to the IRS for investigation (phishing@irs.gov).
