What is phishing?
Phishing is a scam typically carried out by unsolicited e-mail and/or websites that pose as legitimate sites and lure unsuspecting victims to provide personal and financial information.
All unsolicited e-mail claiming to be from either the IRS or any other IRS-related components such as EFTPS, should be reported to phishing@irs.gov.
However, if you have experienced monetary losses due to an IRS-related incident please file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission through their Complaint Assistant to make that information available to investigators.
What to do if you receive a suspicious IRS-related communication
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Then
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| You receive an e-mail claiming to be from the IRS that contains a request for personal information … |
- Do not reply.
- 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 our identity protectionpage.
- Forward the e-mail as-is, to us at phishing@irs.gov.
- After you forward the e-mail and/or header information to us, delete the original e-mail message you received.
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| You discover a website on the Internet that claims to be the IRS but you suspect it is bogus … |
… send the URL of the suspicious site to phishing@irs.gov. Please add in the subject line of the e-mail, ‘Suspicious website’. |
| You receive a phone call or paper letter via mail from an individual claiming to be the IRS but you suspect they are not an IRS employee … |
Phone call:
- Ask for a call back number and employee badge number.
- Contact the IRSto determine if the caller is an IRS employee with a legitimate need to contact you.
- If you determine the person calling you is an IRS employee with a legitimate need to contact you, call them back.
Letter or notice via paper mail:
- Contact the IRSto determine if the mail is a legitimate IRS letter.
- If it is a legitimate IRS letter, reply if needed.
If caller or party that sent the paper letter is not legitimate, contact the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration at 1.800.366.4484. |
| You receive an unsolicited e-mail or fax, involving a stock, share purchase or claiming to be from the IRS …
Or you receive a Form W-8BEN from an unknown source … |
… and you are a U.S. citizen located in the United States or its territories or a U.S. citizen living abroad.
- Complete the appropriate complaint form with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
- Forward e-mail to phishing@irs.gov.
Please add in the subject line of the e-mail, ‘Stock’.
- If you are a victim of monetary or identity theft, you may submit a complaint through the FTC Complaint Assistant.
… and you are not a U.S. citizen and reside outside the United States.
- Complete the appropriate complaint form with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
- Contact your securities regulator and file a complaint.
- Forward e-mail to phishing@irs.gov.
Please add in the subject line of the e-mail, ‘Stock’.
- If you are a victim of monetary or identity theft, you may report your complaint to econsumer.gov.
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| You receive an unsolicited fax claiming to be from the IRS, requesting personal information … |
Contact the IRS to determine if the fax is from the IRS.
- If you learn the fax is not from the IRS, please send us the information via e-mail at phishing@irs.gov. In the subject line of the e-mail, please type the word ‘FAX’.
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| You have a tax-related question … Note: Do not submit tax-related questions to phishing@irs.gov. |
If you have a tax-related question, unrelated to phishing or identity theft, please contact the IRS. |
How to identify phishing e-mail scams claiming to be from the IRS and bogus IRS websites
Remember, the IRS does not initiate e-mail communication with taxpayers regarding EFTPS or tax account matters.
The IRS does not …
… request detailed personal information through e-mail.
… send any communication requesting your PIN numbers, passwords or similar access information for credit cards, banks or other financial accounts.
What to do if you receive a suspicious e-mail message that does not claim to be from the IRS
If
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Then
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| You receive a suspicious phishing e-mail not claiming to be from the IRS … |
Forward the e-mail as-is to reportphishing@antiphishing.org. |
| You receive an e-mail you suspect contains malicious code or a malicious attachment and you HAVE clicked on the link or downloaded the attachment … |
Visit OnGuardOnline.gov to learn what to do if you suspect you have malware on your computer. |
| You receive an e-mail you suspect contains malicious code or a malicious attachment and you HAVE NOT clicked on the link or downloaded the attachment … |
Forward the e-mail to your Internet Service Provider’s abuse department and/or to spam@uce.gov. |
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The IRS also issues customer satisfaction surveys to capture taxpayer and tax practitioner opinions and suggestions for improving our products and services.
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This is a really great blog. Thx to the auther