The IRS and the Better Business Bureau are warning taxpayers about an e-mail scam involving a fake message from the IRS.
The message will say that it’s from the IRS and will have a subject line along the lines of “Notification about tax refund.” The message says it’s about your projected income tax refund and will mention a dollar amount along with a link for you to click on to learn the details. That link does not take you to the IRS, but back to the scammers’ website where you’ll be instructed to enter your bank account number.
A second scam e-mail takes a different approach. It comes with the subject line “Very important notice” and claims that the IRS Anti-fraud Commission has found fraud attempts on your bank account. It warns you that money has been taken from your bank accounts and that your remaining funds have been blocked. This e-mail features a very realistic IRS graphic. It requests that you “unblock your funds” by going to their website.
The Better Business Bureau points out that the IRS does not initiate contact with taxpayers by e-mail or social media. If you get one of these messages, the IRS requests that you forward the message to them at phishing@irs.gov and then delete the messages.
If you’ve lost money due to one of these scams, you need to contact your local law enforcement agency and file a complain with the Federal Trade Commission.
~ Cynthia