In recent years, even the Internal Revenue Service has been the victim of phishers attempting to lure innocent consumers to reveal information. E-mails, supposedly from the Internal Revenue Service, have been used to glean sensitive data from U.S. taxpayers. A sample e-mail masquerading as a notice from the IRS appears below. The actual e-mail would also include the same IRS header that appears on the legitimate IRS website.
From: Internal Revenue Service [mailto:admin@irs.gov]
Sent: Wednesday, March 01, 2008 12:45 PM
To: john.doe@jdoe.com
Subject: IRS Notification – Please Read This.
After the last annual calculations of your fiscal activity we have determined that you are eligible to receive a tax refund of $63.80. Please submit the tax refund request and allow us 6-9 days in order to process it.
A refund can be delayed for a variety of reasons. For example submitting invalid records or applying after the deadline.
To access the form for your tax refund, please click here.
Regards, Internal Revenue Service © Copyright 2006, Internal Revenue Service U.S.A. All rights reserved.
It is easy to see how this could be mistaken for a legitimate e-mail from the IRS so how do you know that it’s not? The IRS has provided the following important information to help prevent you from “clicking through” on these e-mails:
Mast Mood oil: The oil is a perfect choice of treatment for curing reproductive health viagra buy devensec.com disorders. Millions of men every day discover that they are impotent. online viagra This drug is specialized to calm down the nerve cells to acquisition de viagra eradicate stress and anxiety. in store viagra The drug contains the synthetic of sildenafil citrate which takes a shot at this chemical and expands the supply routes channel and standardizes the blood stream in the male organ.
• The IRS does not initiate taxpayer communications through e-mail.
• The IRS does not request detailed personal information through e-mail.
• The IRS does not send e-mails requesting your PIN numbers, passwords, or similar access information for credit cards, banks, or other financial accounts.
If you receive an e-mail claiming to be from the IRS or directing you to an IRS site:
• Do not reply.
• Do not open any attachments. Attachments may contain malicious code that will infect your computer.
• Do not click on any links.
If you receive an e-mail or find a website you think is pretending to be the IRS, forward the e-mail or website URL to the IRS at phishing@irs.gov. After you forward the e-mail, delete the message.
The important thing to know is that the IRS will never contact you by e-mail. They will always send you a letter by postal service mail.