Protect Yourself and Report the Latest Frauds, Scams, Spams, Fakes, Identify Theft Hacks and Hoaxes
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If you received an email like the one below, that looks very authentic, like it came from the IRS, or you received a phone call about the same subject, beware. It is an attempt to get you to enter confidential information (typically a social security number, name, address, bank account information, etc., to allow the scammers to steal your identity and open credit cards in your name.
This email was not sent by the IRS, it came from irswdc.01@hotmail.com. No government agency, including the IRS uses hotmail addresses. This is referred to as spoofing (making a fake email that looks legitimate, "phishing" (when by email) or "vishing" (when by telephone). If you receive an email similar to the one below, DO NOT respond to it, nor click on any links, and do not enter any information on the forms there.
Remember, no real government agency would send you an email or a phone call requesting your personal account information. You would only receive a formal letter by the postal service. Any such email you receive asking for this information should be considered phony and brought to the attention of the business being 'phished'.
Anytime you need to go to a website for your government actions, like tax filing, tax refunds or other personal, financial or confidential information; do not follow a link in an email; just type their address in your browser directly (such as www.IRS.gov )
Below are actual phishing emails that started circulating in 2013. We removed the links to the phisher's email address, which is irswdc.01@hotmail.com
See this page for the IRS's top taxscams for 2013.
----- Forwarded message -----
--- On Fri, 5/3/13, IRS Commissioner <irswdc.01@hotmail.com> wrote:
From: IRS Commissioner <irswdc.01@hotmail.com>
Subject: Internal Revenue Service USA
To:
Date: Friday, May 3, 2013, 9:56 PMInternal Revenue Service
Washington D.C USA.
Dear,
Be informed that we have resolved every requirement concerning the release of your worth $10.5 Million US Dollars which came from Africa. The USA government has mandated the FBI to sign the fund release bond. So you are free of any more requirements from the FBI. Get back to us so that we can advice you on how to receive the fund.
Note that the government requires you to receive this fund so that we can get the Tax from the fund after the transfer into your account. So to avoid charging you for tax evasion it is most important that you pick up this fund immediately.
Respond immediately to receive your funds. Do also confirm the following to this office for proper communication.
Your Full Name:
Your Full Address:
Your Telephone Number:
Your Weekly Income OR monthly Income
Awaiting for your urgent reply.
Thanks,
Steven Miller
IRS Commissioner
Washington D.C,
Phishing is an attempt by an individual or group to solicit personal
information from unsuspecting users by employing social engineering techniques.
Phishing emails are crafted to appear as if they have been sent from a
legitimate organization or known individual. These emails often attempt to
entice users to click on a link that will take the user to a fraudulent website
that appears legitimate. The user then may be asked to provide personal
information such as account usernames and passwords that can further expose them
to future compromises. Additionally, these fraudulent websites may contain
malicious code.
The following documents and websites can help you learn more about phishing and how to protect yourself against phishing attacks.
* If the suspicious mail in question includes a file attachment, it is safer to simply highlight the message and forward it. Some configurations, especially in Windows environments, may allow the execution of arbitrary code upon opening and viewing a malicious email message.
For more information about phishing, see
this page.
|
If You' |
Then |
And |
|
'suspect someone stole your identity and used your SSN for employment purposes or could use your SSN to file a tax return |
Use Form 14039*
*Spanish version:Form 14039SP |
Complete the form online, print it and mail or fax to the appropriate office using the options listed on page 2 of the form. Include photocopies of at least one of the documents listed on the form to verify your identity. For additional information, refer to the Taxpayer Guide to Identity Theft |
|
' suspect or know of an individual or a business that is not complying with the tax laws on issues such as
|
Use
Form
3949-A, Information Referral CAUTION: Do NOTuse Form 3949-A to report the issues below |
Print the form and mail to:
If you do not wish to use Form 3949-A, you may send a letter to the address above. Please include as much information as possible, such as these important points:
*Although you are not required to identify yourself, it is helpful to do so. Your identity will be kept confidential. |
And please let us know about any suspicious calls or emails you receive. We look for patterns so that we can alert the authorities and victims to new scams, before it is too late!
For a comprehensive list of national and international agencies to report scams, see this page.