AmeriPride Tax Group Cautions Taxpayers to Avoid Email Scams That Claim to Originate from the IRS

AmeriPride Tax Group warned its clients and the general public to steer clear of email scams claiming to come from the IRS.

“Scammers are continually seeking new ways to ripoff people,” said Victoria J. Burns, AmeriPride Tax Group Managing CPA. “Thieves will use any angle to commit fraud. Preying on the common fear of the IRS is just one of the ways that these criminals target unsuspecting people.”

Starting with an email that seems innocuous, the scam artists send messages that have the appearance of coming directly from the IRS. These notices may claim that the person has a balance due or a refund coming to them. They attempt to get trusting, honest citizens to open the emails and take action.

The most recent scam involved emails coming from the “Antifraud” division of the IRS. In these emails the scammers claim that an IRS representative has tried to reach a taxpayer regarding money due. The notices stated that the IRS had money frozen in an account because of a suspected fraudulent act and that the money could only be retrieved by following the instructions accessed through the link provided. The page that opened requested personal information that the thieves used to steal identities.

Thieves are banking on the fact that many people are fearful of IRS notices and know very little about the process. They use a refund, rather than an amount due in many cases because people typically don’t seek advice of others when they have money coming.

Of course there are several reasons to be suspicious of emails like this. The first is that the IRS uses snail mail, not email to connect with taxpayers. Additionally, there is no division referred to as the “IRS Antifraud Division” and then there’s the fact that the IRS would not ask anyone to post their social security number on a page in order to claim a check.

Identity theft claims over 27,000 victims every single day and now costs about $50 billion dollars a year.

“Identity thieves are quite cunning, and they will try anything to get personal information to use and sell on the identity market,” says former secret service agent and founder of iSEKURITY, Reginald Ball. “I tell everyone I know to remember this one fact: The IRS and other Federal agencies still use traditional mail to reach out to taxpayers. If you get an email from the IRS and are still unsure, print it out and walk into a local IRS office with a copy of the letter. They will quickly let you know that it’s a fraud.”

Legitimate IRS correspondence can and should be verified through your local office. Taking the time for this extra step can mean a world of difference.