Don’t be Scammed by Fake IRS Communications
Here is a TAX TIP from the IRS provided to you by VXL Services
Inc. a Tax Planning and Tax Return preparation company started by CPA’s and
providing services to Individuals and Businesses across USA. You can visit us
as www.vxlservices.com
The IRS receives thousands of reports each year from taxpayers who
receive suspicious emails, phone calls, faxes or notices claiming to be from
the Internal Revenue Service. Many of these scams 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. The scammers can then use
that information – like your Social Security number, bank account or credit
card numbers – to commit identity theft or steal your money.
Here are
five things the IRS wants you to know about phishing scams:
1.
The IRS doesn’t ask for detailed personal and financial information
like PIN numbers, passwords or similar secret access information for credit
card, bank or other financial accounts.
2.
The IRS does not initiate taxpayer communications through e-mail
and won’t send a message about your tax account. If you receive an e-mail from
someone claiming to be the IRS or directing you to an IRS site:
• Do not reply to the message.
• Do not open any attachments. Attachments may contain malicious code that will 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.
• Do not reply to the message.
• Do not open any attachments. Attachments may contain malicious code that will 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.
3. The
address of the official IRS website is http://www.irs.gov. Do not be confused or misled by
sites 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 but you suspect it is bogus, do not provide any personal information on the
suspicious site and report it to the IRS.
4.
If you receive a phone call, fax or letter in the mail from an
individual claiming to be from the IRS but you suspect they are not an IRS
employee, contact the IRS at 1-800-829-1040 to determine if the IRS has a
legitimate need to contact you. Report any bogus correspondence.
5. 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, keyword
“phishing.”