Today I actually received what SEEMS to be good news via email from the IRS.
After reading the subject line, the sender line and the smooth-talk line, I decided that today was NOT a good day to go “phishing”.
According to the sender, I’m entitled to an easy tax refund, if I’ll just click on an attachment. (Hint: “NEIN! NYET! NOPE!”)
I received the following email today and want to point out several reminders for you when
opening email that requests your NPPI (Non-Public, Personal Information).
Internal Revenue Service [pustomer@irs.gov]
Debt for the period 2011 #ID4256
Tax_Refund.zip(38kb)IRS notice,
The analysis of the last annual calculations
of your fiscal activity has indicated that
you are entitled to receive a tax refund
of $111.14Please submit a request of the tax refund
and a processing of the request will take 7-14 days.
A tax refund can be delayed by different reasons.
For instance submission of invalid records or
sending after the deadline.Please find the form of your tax refund attached
and fill out it and send a report.”Sincerely,
IRS.
Clue #1. The IRS never asks for personal information via email. They already have your details, trust me on this one.
Clue #2. The IRS uses the U.S. Mail and when you get a notification from them, it will come in your snail mail box.
Clue #3. Watch for “Scammer Grammer”. The sentence structure in phishing email is edgy enough to provide clues, if you read carefully.
Clue #4. Requests to open an attachment from any unknown sender potentially carry malware, spyware and viruses.
Clue #5. The “Japan Quake Relief” Scam and Facebook’s “Likejacking” Scam are tricky tax-related ripoffs to watch out for this year.
The IRS has actually set up an official email address posted on their site, where you can report phishing or other tax related scams.
Final reminder, rumors of a “friendlier and gentler IRS” are still greatly exaggerated.
