Unscrupulous types phishing for a refund

By Malynda Fulton

May 16, 2008 11:06 pm

— VALDOSTA — Tax rebate e-mail scams continue to surface in the area as many citizens await their Economic Stimulus Refund checks.
After reading an article in Thursday’s edition of The Valdosta Daily Times about a popular e-mail scam that has recently begun to circulate, a citizen contacted the Times claiming that he, too, had been sent a suspicious message via e-mail. The message informed him that he was entitled to a tax rebate, although he had never received any prior notification.
The person then contacted his accountant, who referred him to the Internal Revenue Service.
The person was advised to forward the message to phishing@irs.gov for the IRS to investigate.
The IRS has posted the following information on its website in response to the increasing number of complaints of e-mail scams and bogus IRS Web sites:
l The IRS does not initiate taxpayer communications through e-mail. In addition, the IRS does not request detailed personal information through e-mail or ask taxpayers for the PIN numbers, passwords or similar secret access information for their credit card, bank or other financial accounts.
l Do not open any attachments to questionable e-mails, which may contain malicious code that will infect your computer. Please be advised that the IRS does not initiate contact with taxpayers via e-mails.”
Law enforcement also urges citizens to beware of various e-mail or phone scams that ask for personal information or money as means of claiming tax rebates.
“Many people with criminal intent will be using the Internet and other avenues to steal money in connection with the Economic Stimulus plan that was recently passed by Congress,” Cmdr. Bell stated in a press release submitted by the VPD. “If citizens receive such messages via e-mail or any other means, they should not participate with hopes of receiving additional money or refund checks earlier than they anticipated.”
For more information on phishing, e-mail scams and unofficial IRS Web sites, visit the official IRS site, www.irs.gov. To make a complaint, contact the department at phishing@irs.gov.