IRS warns taxpayers to be on the lookout for scams

[July 11, 2008]  WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Internal Revenue Service warned taxpayers Thursday of a rash of identity theft scams where thieves try to steal personal information by promising tax benefits or threatening penalties.

The tax agency said taxpayers reported almost 700 attempted incidents of identity theft, or phishing, in May and June alone. It said it has received some 1,600 reports in all of 2008.

The most common scams involve e-mails concerning tax refunds or this year's economic stimulus payments, where the sender misinforms the recipients that they must supply personal information to receive payments.

The IRS does not normally send e-mails to taxpayers and does not request security-related personal information, such as PIN numbers, from taxpayers.

In another scam, people have received faxes saying the IRS is updating files and that recipients who supply requested information will receive nominal tax refunds while those who don't complete the form risk additional taxes.

Companies have also received e-mails asking them to click on a link to download an IRS report on the company. When the link is clicked, "malware" is downloaded that can hijack the victim's computer hard drive to give the scammer remote access to the computer.

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On the Net:

IRS: http://www.IRS.gov/

[Associated Press]

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