CPA Tip: Be Careful of Phoney IRS E-mails and Sites

I find it amusing and a challenge to get bogus IRS e-mails.   First of all, the IRS will never send you an e-mail stating you owe taxes, or a refund.  They are paper-people.  So, knowing that the e-mail is a fraud,  I usually perform an easy test:  I move my mouse over the hyperlinks (which say that they link to the IRS sites) and see where they REALLY link to.  The site is always some bogus site that has ” IRS,” “taxes,” or some other word that sounds legitimate.

The Internal Revenue Service is issuing a warning about a new tax scam that uses a website that mimics the IRS e-Services online registration page.

The actual IRS e-Services page offers web-based products for tax preparers and payers, 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. 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.

If you find a suspicious website that claims to be the IRS, send the site’s URL by email to phishing@irs.gov. Use the subject line, ‘Suspicious website’.

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.

If you get an unsolicited email that appears to be from the IRS, report it by sending it to phishing@irs.gov.

The IRS has information at www.irs.govthat can help you protect yourself from tax scams of all kinds. Search the site using the term “phishing.”  (Source: IRS)

IRS CIRCULAR 230 NOTICE: To ensure compliance with requirements imposed by the U.S. Department of the Treasury and Internal Revenue Service, we inform you that any tax advice contained in this e-mail (including any attachments) is not intended or written to be used, and may not be used, for the purpose of (a) avoiding penalties under the Internal Revenue Code or state tax authority, or (b) promoting, marketing, or recommending to another party any transaction or matter addressed herein.