Don't Fall for this Phishing Scam!

One of our clients recently received an email from someone claiming to be the IRS and further claiming to have a refund which would be forfeited in 48 hours if they did not reply.

This is an example of phishing - fraudulent emails impersonating real businesses or agencies in order to get personal information from an unwary recipient - in this case the SSN and a credit card number. I've received these from others alleging to be my bank and PayPal among others.

Here's the message from the IRS - for more IRS-related scams see their site.

Updated Sept. 19, 2007 — Another recent e-mail scam tells taxpayers that the IRS has calculated their "fiscal activity" and that they are eligible to receive a tax refund of a certain amount. Taxpayers receive a page of, or are sent to, a Web site (titled "Get Your Tax Refund!") that copies the appearance of the genuine "Where's My Refund?" interactive page on the genuine IRS Web site. Like the real "Where's My Refund?" page, taxpayers are asked to enter their SSNs and filing status. However, the phony Web page asks taxpayers to enter their credit card account numbers instead of the exact amount of refund as shown on their tax return, as the real "Where's My Refund?" page does. Moreover, the IRS does not send e-mails to taxpayers to advise them of refunds or to request financial information.