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FMFCU Security Center | IRA Alert

Even before Congress puts the final stamp on an economic stimulus package, which would send rebate checks to many Americans, the Internal Revenue Service has issued a warning for current e-mail and telephone scams involving the proposed advance payment checks.

The IRS reports that the goal of the scams is to trick people into revealing personal and financial information, such as Social Security, deposit account, or credit card numbers, which the scammers can use to commit identity theft.

The most recent scams reported to the IRS include:

• Rebate Phone Call - The caller tells the targeted victim that he is eligible for a sizable rebate for filing his taxes early. The caller then states that he needs the target’s deposit account.
• Refund E-Mail - Several variations of a refund-related bogus e-mail which falsely claims to come from the IRS, tells the recipient that he or she is eligible for a tax refund for a specific amount, and instructs the recipient to click on a link in the e-mail to access a refund claim form. The form asks the recipient to enter personal information that the scamsters can then use to access the e-mail recipient’s deposit or credit card account. A new wrinkle to this scam is directed toward tax-exempt organizations that distribute funds to other organizations or individuals. The e-mail contains the name and supposed signature of the Director of the IRS’s Exempt Organizations business division.
• Audit E-Mail – This scam e-mail notifies the recipient that his or her tax return will be audited. This is the first scam of which the IRS is aware that uses this to get the victim to respond. It may contain a salutation in the body addressed to the specific recipient by name, which is unusual for scam e-mail. The message instructs the recipient to click on links to complete forms with personal and account information.
• Changes to Tax Law E-Mail - This bogus e-mail is addressed to businesses, accountants, and “Treasury” managers. It instructs them to download information on tax law changes by clicking on a series of links to publications. The IRS believes that clicking on a link downloads malicious malware onto the recipient’s computer.
• Paper Check Phone Call - A caller claims to be an IRS employee who is calling because the IRS sent a check to the individual being called. The caller states that because the check has not been cashed, the IRS wants to verify the individual’s account number. The caller may have a foreign accent.

No legislation has yet been enacted that would allow the IRS to provide advance payments to taxpayers or that determines the details of those payments. The IRS does not send unsolicited e-mails to individuals, business, or organizations, nor does it gather personal account information by phone. The only official IRS Web site is www.irs.gov.

Those who have received a questionable e-mail claiming to come from the IRS may forward it to a mailbox the IRS has established to receive such e-mails, phishing@irs.gov, using instructions contained in an article titled “How to Protect Yourself from Suspicious E-Mails or Phishing Schemes.”

IRS Release On Rebate Scams