Email Scams During Tax Season

Scams related to IRS refunds have been around as long as we have been paying taxes. In a recent scam, a taxpayer receives an email stating that they are owed an IRS refund. The scammer uses the IRS name and logo in the email, and may appear trustworthy, but is trying to trick the person into giving out their personal information.

The scammer convinces a victim to claim their IRS refund by going to an authentic-looking Web site and providing personal information, such as an address, credit card number and social security number. Once an unsuspecting victim submits this information, the criminal can perform fraud using the person's identity.

This particular scam originated in the United States and first became noticed in November 2005. With its use of an email that lures the victim and a false Web page that leads to identity and assets theft, this scam is a form of phishing.

This scam may include some of the following details:

• The victims receive an email from an official-looking email address of the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS), such as tax-returns@irs.gov, and a subject line that mentions IRS tax refund.
• The email tells the recipient that he is able to receive a tax refund.
• The email contains a link to access a form that must be completed to claim the refund. Although, the link may initially lead to an actual IRS Web site, the link eventually redirects to the scandalous Web site.
• The taxpayer is asked to provide a name, address, social security number and credit card information.
• The Web site notifies the victim that the refund will arrive in a few weeks time.

One phishing scam in particular is delivered by fax, typically targeting foreign nationals, and asks for information using an official IRS tax form, the W-8BEN, Certificate of Foreign Status of Beneficial Owner for United States Tax Withholding. The W-8BEN form should be given to the withholding agent such as a stock broker, and not the IRS. The IRS W-8BEN form is completed by banks, not individuals.

If you have been a victim of such a scam, or other potential thefts, you should undertake the following actions:

• Do not open any attachments in such emails, which may be a virus or malicious code.
• You can contact the IRS at 1-800-829-1040 and then confirm if the IRS was contacting you for a tax refund. Generally, the IRS does not try to contact you via email.
• If you suspect you are a victim of identity theft, report it to the local authorities, such as a police department, sheriff's office or state police.
• You can also report the fraudulent misuse of the IRS name, logo or form by calling 1-800-366-4484.

View the safety guidelines about phishing under Secure My Cyberspace.

References

• Suspicious Emails and Identity Theft  (Internal Revenue Service)
• "Dirty Dozen" Tax Scams  (Internal Revenue Service)
• Tax Scams Impersonating the IRS  (Suite 101)

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