Don’t Fall Victim to the Latest IRS Imposter Scam

Since the dawn of the digital age, imposters have been trying to find fraudulent ways to gain access to your personal information. Whether it’s a “long-lost relative”, foreign diplomat, or a bank you’ve never heard of; the person on the other end of the screen is only out to get your money. Unfortunately, the same can be said for people posing to be the Internal Revenue Service. Last Friday, the IRS released a statement warning taxpayers of a new scam.

The scam involves a message sent via e-mail that is purported to be in regards to an “Automatic Income Tax Reminder” or “Electronic Tax Return Reminder” but the subject line can vary. The body of the e-mail directs the recipient to a website that looks like irs.gov and a “temporary password” or “one-time password” link can be used to access the files. But whenever one of the links are clicked, a malicious file is downloaded to your device. The malicious file can then be used to steal valuable information such as your passwords, PIN numbers, or other valuable personal information.

The main takeaway here is that the IRS will never send you emails, text messages, or social medial media messages in an effort to resolve an issue with your tax return. In fact a majority of their contact is sent via mail. If you receive a suspicious e-mail, do not click any links or respond. Immediately forward it to phishing@irs.gov and mark it as spam in your inbox. If you are unsure of whether your correspondence received from the IRS is legitimate, contact the IRS or your tax professionals at The Center for Financial, Legal, and Tax Planning. It may cost you some time, but it’s better than allowing an imposter to take over your life.