Bogus IRS emails run rampant

Bogus IRS emails run rampant in lead-up to tax day

 Tax time is phishing season.

The number of fraudulent emails sent by scammers purporting to be from the Internal Revenue Service has skyrocketed leading up to the April 15 tax deadline.
It is estimated that 95% of email sent since Jan. 1 purporting to be from the IRS is actually bogus, the USA Today reported. The fake messages, which sometimes use the tax agency’s official logo, often state that unclaimed refunds await the recipient.
“We identified an error in the calculation of your tax from the last payment, amounting to $419.95,” one such email sent Friday to this reporter stated. “In order for us to return the excess payment, you need to create a e-Refund account after which the funds will be credited to your specified bank account.”
RELATED: COLORADO SENATOR LASHES IRS OVER ALLEGED EMAIL SNOOPING
Unfortunately, many Americans are swindled each year after they send away personal information.
“As tax season begins this year, we want to be clear that there is a heavy price to pay for perpetrators of refund fraud and identity theft,” IRS acting Commissioner Steven T. Miller said on the IRS’ website. “We have aggressively stepped up our efforts to pursue and prevent refund fraud and identity theft, and we will continue to intensely focus on this area. This is part of a much wider effort underway for the 2013 tax season to stop fraud.”

IRS.gov

The IRS is urging people not to open attachments or click on links in emails they receive that ask for more tax information. 

Some scams try to get victims to provide information so tax refunds can be diverted to criminals. Other links sent by email that include a URL containing “IRS” more than likely contain malware.
"Like the sun rises in east and sets in the west, every year, come April, phishers who specialize in tax fraud come out to try to get you," Patrick Peterson, CEO of Internet security company Agari, told USA Today.
RELATED: OBAMA VOWS TO FIND THOSE BEHIND BOSTON MARATHON BOMBING
The best way to steer clear of thieves at tax time is to assume that anything coming out of the blue from the IRS is fraudulent.
“All unsolicited email claiming to be from either the IRS or any other IRS-related components such as the Office of Professional Responsibility or EFTPS, should be reported to phishing@irs.gov,” the IRS states on its website.
The IRS urges anyone who receives an email requesting more information not to reply, open attachments or click on any links.
"They'll send e-mail confirming they've received your tax return and need more information," Limor Kessem, cybercrime and online fraud specialist at RSA's anti-fraud command center in Tel Aviv, Israel, told USA Today. "That's an e-mail you should delete immediately