is now 
The IRS has issued its annual list of what it calls the “Dirty Dozen Tax Scams”. As we live in the digital age, there are a number of online scams to watch out for ranging from identity theft to false e-filing to phishing.
Phishing is pronounced like “fishing”. But, be careful not to bite on this lure.
Phishing is a method scammers use to pretend they represent a cause, company or organization, such as the IRS, Federal Express, the Red Cross and the like, in an email. They are seeking your personal information and money.
In recent IRS scam attempts, the subject lines use attention grabbers like: “IRS needs more information”, “Government Alert: IRS Investigation”, “IRS Rebate waiting for you”, “You May File for an IRS Tax Credit” or “Internal Revenue Service Official Notification”.
The emails may also seem to be sent from the Electronic Federal Tax Payment System or EFTPS that handles the tax deposits and installment payments of millions of taxpayers.
When opened, these emails may use what looks like an official IRS logo. They are also written in official sounding language. They state some reason for needing your personal information, such as verification of an account in order to send a tax refund. They request social security numbers, birth dates, bank account numbers and/or credit card numbers. Some link to an official-looking form with a time-sensitive deadline hoping victims will reply before thinking.
They may even provide an active return email to a contact person. That address may be close to the official “xxx@irs.gov”, but is usually set up as something like: customerservice@help.com or refund@gov.com. However, if used to “reply”, it may lead the user to a scammer who will then respond by email to continue the steps to steal personal information.
Don’t be fooled. The IRS does not send unsolicited emails to taxpayers. The IRS never requests personal nor financial information by email. The IRS does not use text messages or social media channels to make first connections with taxpayers, rather those mediums are used only as information resources following a taxpayer’s own initial request.
If you receive this kind of email, simply delete it. Or, if you’d like to help federal investigators catch these scammers, forward the email to phishing@irs.gov.
If you have already received such an email and answered the email with your personal information, contact the IRS immediately by phone as well as your professional tax preparation service provider for more information.
Learn more about the new Dirty Dozen Tax Scams Report at: Dirty Dozen Tax Scams List from the IRS
