New York CPA says – Beware of fake IRS communications

According to the IRS you should be aware that each year thousands of taxpayers receive suspicious e-mails, phone calls, faxes, or notices claiming to be from the Internal Revenue Service.  “Many of these scams,” say the IRS, “fraudulently use the Internal Revenue Service name or logo as a lure to make the communication more authentic and enticing. The goal of these scams – known as phishing – is to trick you into revealing personal and financial information.

1. The IRS does not initiate taxpayer communications through e-mails or telephone calls.  Therefore, if you receive an e-mail claiming to be from the IRS or directing you to an IRS Website:

• Do not reply to the message.
• Do not open any attachments. Attachments may contain malicious code that can infect your computer.
• Do not click on any links. If you clicked on links in a suspicious e-mail or phishing website and entered confidential information, visit the IRS Website and enter the search term “identity theft: for more information and resources to help.

1. The IRS does not ask for detailed personal and financial information like PIN numbers, passwords or similar secret access information for credit cards, bank or other financial accounts.
2. The address of the official IRS Website is http://www.irs.gov. Do not be confused or misled by websites claiming to be the IRS but ending in .com, .net, .org, or other designations instead of .gov. If you discover a website that claims to be the IRS that you suspect is bogus, do not provide any personal information on this site, and report it to the IRS.
3. If you receive a telephone call, fax, or letter in the mail from an individual claiming to be from the IRS but you suspect it is not from the IRS, contact the IRS at 1-800-829-1040 to determine if the IRS has a legitimate need to contact you. Report any bogus correspondence.
4. You can help shut down these schemes and prevent others from being victimized. Details on how to report specific types of scams and what to do if you’ve been victimized are available at http://www.irs.gov, and by typing the word “phishing” in the “Search” box located in the upper-right hand corner of the screen.

 For additional information about phony IRS tax scammers visit these websites:

• IRS Dirty Dozen Tax Scams
• IRS Warns of New e-Mail and Telephone Scams
• IRS Establishes e-mail Box for Taxpayers to Report Phony e-mails
• Identity Theft You-tube video

(New York CPA says – Beware of fake IRS communications)