IRS warns consumers about phish e-mail
The IRS reports that fraudsters are sending messages to individual taxpayers inviting them to go online and verify personal information in order to get a refund. According to the IRS, the Treasury's inspector general for tax administration found 12 Web sites hosting the phish schemes in 11 countries.
The IRS has an alert on its Web site warning consumers about the scams. Phish e-mails may appear to be from address like tax-refunds@irs.gov, admin@irs.gov or other variations of e-mail addresses with irs.gov at the end. People who click on these links will end up on a copy of the IRS's Web site, but it will prompt visitors to provide personal and financial information that the IRS's own interactive page does not require.
In another scam, non-residents receive a bogus IRS letter and Form W-8BEN, which is a form that financial institutions use to establish appropriate tax withholding for foreign individuals. The bogus letters ask recipients to provide personal information such as account numbers, personal identification numbers, mother's maiden name and passport number. The IRS says the legitimate W-8BEN does not seek any of this information.
The number of Americans who have experienced identity theft has surpassed 27 million, with the incidence rate increasing every year. Maximum security is possible only with your help.
Heres what you can do to stop these crimes before they happen.
1. Do not give out personal financial information to
unsolicited sources.
2. Report lost or stolen checks and credit cards
immediately.
3. Notify your Credit Union of any suspicious phone
inquiries.
4. Closely guard your debit and ATM cards, along with
their passwords.
5. Shred any financial solicitations and statements before
disposing of them.
6. Sign up for your Credit Unions free on line banking
CU OnLine
7. Register your Credit Union Visa card at
(Access site from CU OnLine Credit Card)
8. Put outgoing mail into a secure, official Postal Service
collection box.
9. If regular bills fail to reach you, call the company
and find out why.
10. If your bills include questionable items, don't ignore
them. Investigate immediately.
11. Periodically contact the major credit reporting companies
and obtain a copy of your credit report.
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