IRS Tax Refund Phishing Scam

Summary:
Email, purporting to be from the IRS, claims that the recipient is eligible for a tax refund and should click on an included link to access the refund (Full commentary below).



Status:
False

Example:(Submitted, December 2007)


Commentary:
Phishing scammers use a variety of tactics designed to trick victims into divulging their personal information. One such tactic is to send out bogus emails that claim that the recipient is eligible for a tax refund from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). The message instructs recipients to click on a link to apply for their refund.

However, the email is not from the IRS, and clicking the link opens a bogus website designed to steal personal information such as credit card details and social security numbers. The scammers can retain the private information submitted on this fake website and use it to commit credit card fraud or identity theft. In order to further the illusion of legitimacy, the fake website closely resembles pages on the genuine IRS website. The scam email itself also uses seemingly official graphics and formatting to fool potential victims into believing its claims.

The IRS has published a warning to US taxpayers about this and other IRS related scams that includes the following statement:

Another recent e-mail scam tells taxpayers that the IRS has calculated their "fiscal activity" and that they are eligible to receive a tax refund of a certain amount. Taxpayers receive a page of, or are sent to, a Web site (titled "Get Your Tax Refund!") that copies the appearance of the genuine "Where's My Refund?" interactive page on the genuine IRS Web site. Like the real "Where's My Refund?" page, taxpayers are asked to enter their SSNs and filing status. However, the phony Web page asks taxpayers to enter their credit card account numbers instead of the exact amount of refund as shown on their tax return, as the real "Where's My Refund?" page does. Moreover, the IRS does not send e-mails to taxpayers to advise them of refunds or to request financial information.

©iStockphoto.com/Stefan Hermans The IRS does not offer tax refunds via unsolicited emails

Criminals have use variants of this IRS tax-refund ruse to target US based victims for a number of years. Moreover, scammers also use very similar tactics to target taxpayers in the UK, Canada, and other nations. You should treat any unsolicited email that claims that you are eligible for a tax refund with the utmost suspicion. Government tax entities such as the IRS do not send refund notifications via unsolicited email. If you receive such an email, do not follow any links in the message or open any attachments that it may contain.

Related Articles:
Phishing Scams - Anti-Phishing Information
HM Revenue & Customs Tax Refund Phishing Scam
Department of Finance Phishing Scam

References:
IRS Warns Taxpayers of New E-mail Scams

Last updated: 30th December 2007
First published: 30th December 2007

Write-up by Brett M. Christensen