Impersonating the IRS is a favorite way for scammers to intimidate their victims. Who isn’t afraid of the IRS? It’s gotten even worse recently with all those tempting Economic Impact Payments and other COVID-19 funding just waiting to be stolen. Email phishing scams allow criminals to hit thousands of potential victims in seconds, and then sit back and watch how much money they can reel in.
At the end of March, the IRS warned about another IRS impersonation scam that targets educational institutions, including students and staff who have “.edu” email addresses. The scam emails display the IRS logo and use various subject lines to get potential victims’ attention, such as “Tax Refund Payment” or “Recalculation of your tax refund payment.”
The phishing emails ask people to click a link and submit a form to claim their refund. Who wouldn’t want a refund, right? The problem is, the link asks for all kinds of personal information, like:
- Social Security number
- First Name
- Last Name
- Date of Birth
- Prior Year Annual Gross Income (AGI)
- Driver’s License Number
- Current Address
- City
- State/U.S. Territory
- ZIP Code/Postal Code
- Electronic Filing PIN
The IRS would never ask for personal information. So, what should you do with a scam email?
- Do Not Open or Click
Resist temptation to open or reply to any suspicious email, no matter how enticing. And don’t even think about clicking on a link in a suspicious email!
- Report to Authorities and Delete
Report phishing emails to the Federal Trade Commission at www.ftc.gov/complaint and to the Anti-Phishing Working Group at [email protected]. Forward tax-related emails to the IRS at [email protected]. After reporting, delete the original email.
Need more protection and detection help? The IRS has it for you here – https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/tax-scams-how-to-report-them and the Federal Trade Commission has more for you here – https://reportfraud.ftc.gov/#/?pid=A.