This is a sample of one of the IRS scam e-mails that have been spotted. (Photo Credit: CC BY-ND/Chris/Confessions of a Consultant)

Each tax season, unscrupulous individuals come out of the cyber-woodwork to prey on unsuspecting taxpayers. Unfortunately, 2011 tax time is no different. According to the Shelbyville Times-Gazette, a new IRS e-mail scam is circulating that can infect your computer with malware and viruses and even place your sensitive financial data in the hands of identity thieves.

The IRS does not sent personal tax e-mails

Dan Boone, an IRS media relations representative, told the Times-Gazette that the IRS never sends e-mails about specific tax returns.

“If you get an e-mail that looks like comes from the IRS and it looks like it has something to do with your personal taxes or business taxes, it’s a scam,” said Boone.

While there is not one specific IRS scam e-mail in circulation, there is a common theme. Identity thieves are phishing for social security numbers, bank account numbers or other personal information that will make it much easier to get their hands on your money or lines of credit in your name. Typically, the fraud e-mail dangles a refund due to the consumer but says the consumer must provide banking information on a special refund form in order to facilitate a “transfer” of funds.

“There is no refund form. Your tax return is your refund form,” said Boone.

How to handle an IRS phishing scam

If you receive an e-mail claiming to be from IRS.gov that asks for your personal information, do not click on any links in the e-mail or download/open any attachments, advises Boone. This can open up your computer to malware and viruses that can potentially steal sensitive data from your computer’s hard drive or record your keystrokes. Whether or not a link in an information-seeking IRS scam e-mail redirects a taxpayer to a website that looks like IRS.gov, the fact is that the IRS does not send taxpayers e-mails that require personal data.

The IRS encourages taxpayers to report fraud of any kind. Forward suspicious e-mails to phishing(at)irs.gov. Please note that a return receipt from the IRS will not be issued. For more information, consult IRS form IR-2006-49.

Sources

IRS.gov: Suspicious e-mails and identity theft

Shelbyville Times-Gazette

Beware e-mails that appear to be from the IRS

Wondering where your tax refund check is? Image: Flickr / substack / CC-BY-SA

The new year is here, and that means it is time for taxes. If you’re left wondering where’s my refund, there is a way to check. There are “where’s my refund” scams out there, so it is important to make sure you’re getting your information from the right place.

Where’s My Refund – the IRS service

The IRS offers an online service to help you track your tax refund. Called “Where’s My Refund,” the service taps into the IRS database to track where, exactly, your tax refund stands. It provides information on the most recent tax year, and stays on the “Where’s My Refund” website until the second week of December. After that point, the system clears in preparation for the next year’s tax refund information.

How to get your refund information

Getting information about where your refund money stands does require you to provide some information to the IRS website. You need to have your Social Security number, your filing status, and the whole-dollar amount that your refund should be. Enter this information into the IRS Where’s My Refund website, and it should return information on the status of your refund. This will only work if you have actually submitted your tax return. If you have not yet submitted your tax return, the IRS website cannot give you any information.

Watch out for Where’s my refund scams

There are plenty of spammers and illegitimate websites out there that try to get your information by playing off people trying to find the “where’s my refund” question. The IRS does not send out emails asking for personal information. If you do get an email that claims to come from the IRS, do not click on any links or reply to those emails. Instead, you should only go to IRS.gov. You should also report any emails asking for personal information to the IRS, because they are technically illegal.