IRS Email Scams
Emails are still one of the most used forms of communication on the Internet. This is the reason why so many scammers are doing their best to take advantage of Internet users with the help of phony emails. It turns out that scammers are using the identity of the IRS (Internal Revenue Service) on a regular basis in order to trick taxpayers. They want to make receivers believe that they are communicating with officials from the IRS. In most cases, these scammers are trying to commit identity thefts.
Whenever we open an email like this, these online scammers are trying to force us to reveal our financial and personal information. For instance, some of them will ask for your bank account numbers and credit card numbers and some of them will ask you to share your social security number or even some passwords. Once they achieve their goal they are opening new loans, charging your debit and credit cards and use your sensitive information in other criminal ways. It’s good to mention that they are usually using scams promising refund from IRS just to make you reveal information.
What every Internet user should know is that the IRS would never entice you to enter sensitive information and share it with them over the Internet. They will also never punish you for not sharing this kind of information. In other words, you can never expect an official email from the IRS asking for personal/financial information. If you are still not sure whether you are looking at an official email from the IRS or not, you should know that there are a few signs that can help you identifying IRS email scams.
To start with, the majority of these scam emails are created in other countries. In most of these countries, the English language is not their first language. So, if you notice heavy grammar and spelling mistakes, this is a clear sign that you are looking at a so-called phishing email. Can you imagine IRS officials sending emails like this?
Next, another sign that something is wrong is the incorrect names used in the email. There is no Taxing Agency in the United States. There is no Regional Bureau of Taxation either. It is obvious that the scammers that use IRS name to scam people are using these names to make their emails look more serious.
Finally, these IRS email scams contain links to phony websites that look like the official IRS website. The best way to make sure that you are looking at their official website is to check the URL – irs.gov. Remember to check the hyperlink before visiting any link in your emails because these cyber thieves are good at masking URLs. If you want to be sure that you have not received an email from the IRS feel free to call them on their official phone number.
Don’t forget that the IRS will never initiate contact with any taxpayer via email or social media and they will certainly never ask for your credit card number, password or other personal information in this way.
