Scammers use IRS as lure for victims

The Internal Revenue Service warned taxpayers Wednesday to beware of e-mail and telephone scams that use the IRS name as a lure. The IRS expects such scams to continue through the end of tax return filing season and beyond.

The agency cautioned taxpayers to be on the lookout for scams involving proposed advance payment checks. Although the government has not yet enacted an economic stimulus package, a scam is going around which uses the proposed rebates as bait.

The goal of the scams is to trick people into revealing personal and financial information, such as Social Security, bank account or credit card numbers, which the scammers can use to commit identity theft.

Typically, identity thieves use a victim's personal and financial data to empty the victim's financial accounts, run up charges on the victim's existing credit cards, apply for new loans, credit cards, services or benefits in the victim's name, file fraudulent tax returns, or even commit crimes.

Most of these fraudulent activities can be committed

Scammers use IRS electronically from a remote

location, including overseas. Committing these activities in cyberspace allows scammers to act quickly and cover their tracks before the victim becomes aware of the theft.

People whose identities have been stolen can spend months or years - and their hardearned money - cleaning up the mess thieves have made of their reputations and credit records. In the meantime, victims may lose job opportunities, may be refused loans, education, housing or cars, or even get arrested for crimes they didn't commit.

The most recent scams brought to IRS attention are:

• The Rebate Phone Call - In this scam, consumers receive a phone call from someone pretending to be an IRS employee, who says the victim is eligible for a sizable rebate for filing his taxes early. The caller needs the victim's bank account information for direct deposit of the rebate. If the victim refuses, he is told he cannot receive the rebate.

• The Refund E-mail - A bogus IRS e-mail falsely tells the recipient he or she is eligible for a tax refund if they click on a link in the e-mail to access a refund claim form. The form asks the recipient to enter personal information scammers can then use to access the bank or credit card accounts.

• The Audit E-mail - The e-mail notifies the recipient that his or her tax return will be audited and instructs the recipient to click on links to complete forms with personal and account information, which the scammers will use to commit identity theft.

• Changes to Tax Law Email - This bogus e-mail is addressed to businesses, accountants and "Treasury" managers, telling them to download information on tax law changes by clicking on a series of links, which actually download malware onto the recipient's computer.

• Paper Check Phone Call - A caller claims to be an IRS employee who is calling because the IRS sent a check, but since the check has not been cashed, the IRS wants to verify the individual's bank account number. The caller may have a foreign accent.

What to Do

Anyone wishing to go to the IRS Web site should always type in the www.irs.gov address, rather than clicking on a link in an e-mail or opening an attachment.

Those who have received a questionable e-mail claiming to come from the IRS may forward it to a mailbox the IRS has established to receive such e-mails, phishing@irs.gov.

Those who have received a questionable telephone call that claims to come from the IRS may also use the phishing@irs. gov mailbox to notify the IRS of the scam.