Jean Wetzler: This is Jean Wetzler. I’m talking with Faris Fink from the Small Business, Self Employed Division about phishing and tax scams.
Faris, what does taxpayers need to know about emails that appears if they came from the IRS.
Faris Fink: There have been a recent way for phishing or phony emails made up to look like they come from the IRS. The goal is to trick people into revealing personal and financial information such as social security, bank account and credit card number. Scammers use these to commit indemnity theft.
Jean Wetzler: Can you give us an example of a typical phishing scam?
Faris Fink: We found scams are popular and there are several variations. Typically a tax payer will receive an email apparent to come from the IRS telling them they are eligible for a refund. The bogus message instructs the recipient to click on a link to a refund claim form. The form requests personal information the scammers can use to access the tax payers bank, her credit card account. Don’t fall for it. The IRS does not send unsolicited emails about account matters.
And filing a tax return is the only way to apply for a refund. There is no separate application form. We do not discuss tax matters with tax payers on email and we definitely do not request personal or security related information such as pins.
Jean Wetzler: Are there any scams in particular that small businesses should be alert to and warn there employees about?
Faris Fink: There is a company report scam where an email appears to come from an IRS.gov email address. It includes the recipient name and company. The email says the IRS has a report on the company and asks the recipient to review a copy by clicking on a link to download the report. Clicking on the link will cause Malware to download. Malware is a malicious software. It can high jack a hard drive and give the perpetrator remote access to search for password and other information.
We’ve even identified a fax phishing scam. This one consists of a cover letter and a form that are faxed rather than email and asks the recipient to buy personal information.
Jean Wetzler: How can tax payers protect themselves?
Faris Fink: Be alert to suspicious emails or faxes, reporting to be from the IRS. Don’t reply, don’t open any attachments and don’t click on any links and be vigilant. New scams crop up and when they do, we issue alerts. You can find them on our website, IRS.gov. On the front page, you’ll find a link to information about phishing and email scams, some examples and how you can report them.
The most important thing is to be cautious.
Jean Wetzler: Thank you Faris. I’ve been talking with Faris Fink of the IRS. This is Jean Wetzler.
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