Don’t be Victimized by contacts from fake IRS agents

A recent uptick in scam IRS e - mail and phone calls has prompted urgent government warnings

to taxpayers. But people are finding that recognizing a bogus IRS contact is tougher than they think. The tactics used by criminals to steal your identity vary widely and are surprisingly sophisticated. A common recent scam is an official-looking e - mail purporting to be from the IRS requesting an immediate update to your e-file account. Anyone who clicks on the link will be taken through a series of requests for personal information that might be used to commit fraud in your name. And if you happen to divulge bank account information, they may try to steal directly from you as well.

So what is the best way to protect yourself against such a scheme? First, recognize what is NOT proof of a genuine IRS contact. An IRS logo on an e - mail or letter, while adding the look of authenticity, could have been lifted from the IRS website. An e - mail from an address containing the letters “IRS” is also not a reliable sign. Scammers can create e - mail addresses that look deceptively similar to IRS.gov (the official IRS site). Surprisingly, even a scammer’s possession of the last four digits of your social security number is not proof. This, too, can be obtained by a thief.

Scammers will also try to appear genuine by following up an e - mail with a phone call, or vice versa. They often create a sense of urgency and threaten all sorts of legal and punitive actions if you don’t respond immediately. Here is what you should do in response to any IRS contact. If the first contact is by letter, forward a copy to your tax preparer to determine if it is legitimate. If the initial contact is by phone, do not provide any personal data over the phone. The call is most likely not from the IRS. And if the first contact is by e - mail, do not respond to it at all, and do not click on any attached links. The IRS does not initiate contact by e - mail – ever. Instead, send it on to the IRS at phishing@irs.gov to help prevent tax scams from spreading.

Monday, September 8, 2014