IRS Tax Rebate Scam via Email

With the deadline to file your income tax return coming due on April 15 where you will tell Uncle Sam how much you made this year, this is an opportunity for internet scammers to obtain your personal financial information by accessing your computer through an e-mail phishing scam.

The email looks very official with the IRS logo, signatures and even an apparent IRS email address but this is not a legitimate email. The Internal Revenue Service warns consumers NOT to click on the link as instructed by the sender.

The body of the email may state the following or a variation of it:

“After the last annual calculations of your fiscal activity we have determined that you are eligible to receive a tax refund of $480.23. Please submit the tax refund request and allow us 3-9 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, please click here”

Other email phishing scams involve:
Advance Payments
Soliciting Donations to California Wildfire Victims
Cash offers for participation in “Member Satisfaction Survey”
Electronic Federal Tax Payment System

Here is a sample of a phishing email claiming to be from the IRS (PDF format).

If you happen to receive such an email, do not open it or click on the link. Forward the email to phishing@irs.gov as instructed by the Internal Revenue Service.

[Update]: I found this great video from the very creative people at CommonCraft.com. It is about “Phishing Scams in Plain English.” Enjoy!

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February 16th, 2008 · Filed Under UnReal Estate posts

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