Help DUers - Is this a new scam? Supposedly from the IRS, I am suspicious!!!

[Bobbieo]

"After the last annual calculations of your fiscal activity we have determined that you are eligible to receive a Stimulus Payment.

"Please submit the Stimulus Payment Online Form in order to process it."

(This was sent to: Blank - no name. I am an 85 year old widow.)

"A Stimulus Payment can be delayed for a variety of reasons.
For example submitting invalid records or applying after the deadline.

"To submit your Stimulus Payment form, please download the document attached to your email.

"Note: If filing or preparation fees were deducted from your 2007 Refund or you received a refund anticipation loan, you will be receiving a check instead of a direct deposit.

"Regards,
"Internal Revenue Service."


On the Stimulus Payment Online Form -

SS number - Filing Status - Household - No. of exemptions - full name - address - phone number - debit card number.

There are so many scams out there now and I fear this is one of them

[nichomachus]

1. It is a scam

[Greyhound]

2. Certainly sounds like it. Contact the IRS directly and ask. n/t

[SacredCow]

3. Looks like classic scam to me... n/t

[mod mom]

4. Contact the IRS and make sure they re aware of this.

[nichomachus]

11. This particular scam has been around for a couple of years now

[carlyhippy]

5. you need to contact the IRS by phone and ask them if this is legit

I am always paranoid of something in the mail that asks for my social security number. They should have that info already, they don't need it again IMHO....it sounds like a scam to me, I would call and find out, don't call any numbers on the form, call your local IRS office.

[Wickerman]

6. Yes

Pretty sure the IRS isn't using email. They'll send some fancy letter in the mail if true.

[nichomachus]

7. Here's the link to Snopes

http://www.snopes.com/fraud/phishing/irsrefund.asp

Do not give them any information

[TahitiNut]

8. Scam. (It's called "phishing.")

Definitely a scam. Delete it.

[SacredCow]

9. Apparently not a terribly new one....

http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=178061,00.html

[NYCGirl]

10. Snopes says it's a scam:

http://www.snopes.com/fraud/phishing/irsrefund.asp

[dflprincess]

12. Tell your friends so they don't fall for this

The IRS would never send something like this out - if they owed you money, they'd let you know. And, if they were sending you a check, why would they want your debit card number?

Call the IRS as well and let them know about this and, if you received it in the mail, the post office should be told as well. They probably won't be able to trace it back to the crooks but they will send out warnings when they know something like this is going on.

[Tangerine LaBamba]

13. I love DU!!!

Look at this:

A fellow DUer posts a problem, asks for assistance -

Within 4 minutes - that's FOUR MINUTES - the whole thing is identified and solved.

I love DU.

[Bobbieo]

19. I also love DU - Tangerine. This in not the first time DU has helped me out

[MineralMan]

Think about it...Does the IRS have your email address?

Have you ever gotten an email from the IRS?

The IRS does not communicate via Email.

Do not fall for anything that asks for your SS# or other identification in an email. Go, yourself, to the site of the place that supposedly sent it, making sure that you get the correct site and not some bogus replica of it.

Never click a link in any email of this type. Never.

[Contrary1]

14. One good way to spot a scam

is to look at who it is addressed to. If it is to your email addy, and not your name, delete it. If it is addressed to your name, call the company it is supposed to be from to check on the authenticity.

Also, the IRS would contact you via snail mail, not online.

[notadmblnd]

15. The IRS does not use e-mail

All their correspondence is sent USPS

[Warren DeMontague]

16. It's best to assume that *EVERYTHING* you receive via email is a scam until proven otherwise.

If it's legit, they'll find some other way to contact you.

[The_Casual_Observer]

17. This is a very sad thing to see.

[krispos42]

18. Scam, IMO. The IRS does not operate via email

Call the IRS and tell them. Let the Feds find the fuckers and toss them in prison.


These people prey on the vulnerable, like the elderly, that are likely to be tech-ignorant.

How to Report and Identify Phishing, E-mail Scams and Bogus IRS Web Sites

The IRS does not initiate taxpayer communications through e-mail.

The IRS does not request detailed personal information through e-mail.
The IRS does not send e-mail requesting your PIN numbers, passwords or similar access information for credit cards, banks or other financial accounts.
If you receive an e-mail from someone claiming to be the IRS or directing you to an IRS site,

Do not reply.
Do not open any attachments. Attachments may contain malicious code that will infect your computer.
Do not click on any links. If you clicked on links in a suspicious e-mail or phishing Web site and entered confidential information, visit our Identity Theft page.
How to report phishing, e-mail scams and bogus IRS Web sites
If you receive an e-mail or find a Web site you think is pretending to be the IRS,

Forward the e-mail or Web site URL to the IRS at [e-mail].
You can forward the message as received or provide the Internet header of the e-mail. The Internet header has additional information to help us locate the sender.
After you forward the e-mail or header information to us, delete the message.
How to identify phishing e-mail scams and bogus IRS Web sites

Sample of phishing e-mails
First sample of an actual phishing e-mail - PDF
Second sample of an actual phishing e-mail - PDF
All IRS.gov Web page addresses begin with, http://www.irs.gov/
Is it a phishing Web site? - PDF
Are you a victim of Identity Theft?
Contact the Federal Trade Commission at 1-877-IDTHEFT (438-4338)
Visit the IRS Identity Theft resource page
You may also report misuse of the IRS name, logo, forms or other IRS property to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration toll-free at 1-800-366-4484.

Additional resources

OnGuardOnline.gov provides protection tips from the federal government and the technology industry.
Suspicious e-Mails and Identity Theft
What is Phishing, Beware of Phishing Schemes
IR-2006-49, IRS Establishes e-Mail Box for Taxpayers to Report Phony e-Mails.
Phishing Scams, Frivolous Arguments Top the 2008 “Dirty Dozen” Tax Scams
You can also forward suspicious e-mails to the Federal Trade Commission at: [e-mail] or contact them at 1-877-IDTHEFT (438-4338).
Having trouble downloading a PDF





http://www.irs.gov/privacy/article/0,,id=179820,00.html?portlet=5

[MrsBrady]

20. IRS does not ask SS# via email n/t

[DrDan]

21. they are asking for your SS# and debit card number??? - of course it is a scam