Posted 11:55 pm Sunday, October 28, 2012
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IRS warns of new online tax scam
The Internal Revenue Service issued a warning Friday about a new tax scam that uses a website mimicking the IRS e-Services online registration page.
The actual IRS e-Services page offers web-based products for tax preparers, not the general public. The phony Web page looks almost identical to the real one.
“The IRS gets many reports of fake websites like this,” Clay Sanford, a Dallas IRS spokesman, said in a prepared statement. “Criminals use these sites to lure people into providing personal and financial information that may be used to steal the victim's money or identity.”
The address of the official IRS website is www.irs.gov. Don't be misled by sites claiming to be the IRS but ending in .com, .net, .org or other designations instead of .gov, Sanford warned. If you find a suspicious website that claims to be the IRS, send the site's URL by email to phish ing@irs.gov. Use the subject line, 'Suspicious website,' he said.
Be aware that the IRS does not initiate contact with taxpayers by email to request personal or financial information. This includes any type of electronic communication, such as text messages and social media channels.
The actual IRS e-Services page offers web-based products for tax preparers, not the general public. The phony Web page looks almost identical to the real one.
“The IRS gets many reports of fake websites like this,” Clay Sanford, a Dallas IRS spokesman, said in a prepared statement. “Criminals use these sites to lure people into providing personal and financial information that may be used to steal the victim's money or identity.”
The address of the official IRS website is www.irs.gov. Don't be misled by sites claiming to be the IRS but ending in .com, .net, .org or other designations instead of .gov, Sanford warned. If you find a suspicious website that claims to be the IRS, send the site's URL by email to phish ing@irs.gov. Use the subject line, 'Suspicious website,' he said.
Be aware that the IRS does not initiate contact with taxpayers by email to request personal or financial information. This includes any type of electronic communication, such as text messages and social media channels.
