Last week, a client forwarded an email to us that appeared to be from the IRS asking for information required to process her tax return. It included an attachment (which contained a virus) that she was instructed to complete and return.
These types of email and phishing attempts are, unfortunately, pretty common these days. People are especially vulnerable to messages that appear to be from the IRS (the sender’s return address was a fake irs.gov email). There are several clues within the message that it was fake: typos, reference to the non-existent “Internal Revenue Source”, the visible email addresses on the distribution, and the zipped attachment.
But here’s the easiest way to spot a fake message about your taxes from the IRS: They’re all fake! Here’s some information directly from the IRS itself:
Remember, the IRS does not initiate e-mail communication with taxpayers regarding EFTPS or tax account matters.
The IRS does not …
… request detailed personal information through e-mail.
… send any communication requesting your PIN numbers, passwords or similar access information for credit cards, banks or other financial accounts.
The IRS has created a page that gives complete information about phishing attempts. http://www.irs.gov/privacy/article/0,,id=179820,00.html?portlet=1
