Consumers and Tax Professionals Targeted in IRS E-mail Scams

 

If you get a random e-mail from the IRS concerning a tax fraud…delete it.

The IRS has seen an approximate 400% surge in phishing and malware incidents this past tax season. There are a variety of different types of emails but a couple of the most common ones that have been seen are listed below.

1. Emails designed to trick taxpayers to click on a official looking website. The sites ask for social security numbers and other personal information. The sites also carry malware which infect computers and allow criminals to access files or track keystrokes to gain information. “While more attention has focused on the continuing IRS phone scams, we are deeply worried this increase in email schemes threatens more taxpayers,” Koskinen said. Tax professionals also are reporting phishing schemes to obtain their online credentials.

2. Emails with links. This e-mail tricks people into opening a link by saying that incorrect information was detected on their tax refund account. The link goes to a fake page where scammers try to steal your personal information.

We like to remind our clients that the IRS does not randomly contact taxpayers by phone or e-mail. If a taxpayer receives an unsolicited email that appears to be from either the IRS e-services portal or an organization closely linked to the IRS, report it by sending it to phishing@irs.gov. This unsolicited email could be a scam and needs to be reported in order to slow the threat of these scams in the future.

For more information, visit: https://www.irs.gov/uac/Tax-Scams-Consumer-Alerts

For additional information, feel free to contact us anytime.