Between now and April 15th, many people will file their taxes with the IRS. While this can be an already arduous task for many people, it can be even worse if you fall victim to a scam that has become very common this time of year.
This email phishing scam works something like this:
- The potential victim receives an email from an account impersonating the IRS. Here is an example: https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-utl/phishing_email2.pdf
- After clicking a link or image on the email, the potential victim is directed to a website that is made to look like the IRS website. The potential victim is then asked to fill out a form to confirm or update their information.
Oftentimes this request claims that information is needed to process their return. It makes sense to the potential victim because they have just filed their taxes or they are about to do so. This information can range from personal information such as date of birth to bank account information. Once it falls in the wrong hands, the provided information can be used for identity theft or for financial theft.
What You Can Do To Protect Yourself From Tax Return Fraud
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- Remember that the IRS will never ask you for your personal information or financial information via email.
- Be cautious of what you click on.
- If you still aren’t sure if a request for information is legitimately from the IRS, find the contact information for your local office on the IRS website and contact them by phone regarding the request.
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What You Can Do If You Are Already A Victim
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- If you have already given out your personal information, the FTC has created a guide for what to do: https://www.identitytheft.gov/
- If you have already given out your financial information, it is a good idea to contact the financial institutions associated with those accounts.
- Report this activity to the IRS to help prevent others from falling victim to this scam: https://www.irs.gov/uac/Report-Phishing
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Unfortunately, these scams exist because they are an effective way for criminals to deceive people into giving up their information. Creating awareness of these types of scams is one way to reduce their effectiveness and prevent others from being victims. Please send this to a family member or loved one that you feel may be vulnerable to this type of e-mail scam.