Internal
Revenue Service Does Not Send
Emails
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The Internal Revenue Service
Does Not Send Emails in Regards to Your
Taxes
Don’t be Scammed by Cyber Criminals
The Internal Revenue Service 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 appear more authentic and enticing. The goal of
these scams – known as phishing – is to trick you into revealing your personal
and financial information. The scammers can then use your 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 Internal Revenue Service wants you to know about phishing scams.
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The Internal Revenue Service never asks for detailed personal and financial information like PIN
numbers, passwords or similar secret access information for credit card,
bank or other financial accounts.
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The Internal Revenue Service does not initiate contact with taxpayers by email to request
personal or financial information. If you receive an e-mail from someone
claiming to be the Internal Revenue Service or directing you to an Internal
Revenue Service 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
Internal Revenue Service website and enter the search term 'identity theft' for more information
and resources to help.
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The address of the official Internal Revenue Service website is www.IRS.gov.
Do not be confused or misled by sites claiming to be the Internal Revenue
Service but ending in
.com, .net, .org or other designations instead of .gov. If you discover a
website that claims to be the Internal Revenue Service but you suspect it is bogus, do not
provide any personal information on the suspicious site and report it to the
Internal Revenue Service.
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If you receive a phone call, fax or letter in the mail from an individual
claiming to be from the Internal Revenue Service but you suspect they are not an
Internal Revenue Service employee,
contact the Internal Revenue Service at 1-800-829-1040 to determine if the
Internal Revenue Service has a legitimate
need to contact you. Report any bogus correspondence. You can forward a
suspicious email to phishing@IRS.gov.
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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 www.IRS.gov.
Click on "phishing" on the home page.
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Copyright © 2001-2022 Gary W. Lundgren, EA
All rights reserved.