IRS warns of fraud via phones, e-mail

Just in time for tax season, the Internal Revenue Service is warning folks about no less than five phone and e-mail scams — all with perpetrators impersonating IRS employees.

But the schemes are easy to sidestep, the agency says.

If you get an unsolicited call or e-mail, it's a scam, period.

Two scams seem to be picking up on the notion that the government is giving economic stimulus rebates.

That hasn't happened yet, but that doesn't deter the scammers, who are using both phone calls and e-mails, according to an IRS bulletin.

Callers have claimed that taxpayers will get hefty rebates for filing returns early, and then asked for bank account information so the check can be deposited directly.

If the intended targets refuse, the scammer says there won't be any rebate.

In the real world, officials said, the IRS doesn't insist on direct deposits.

If you want a direct deposit, you can put your personal information on your tax return; IRS employees won't call or e-mail you for it.

And phony e-mails have offered tax refunds and told recipients to click on a link for a "claim form."

Surprise, you're being audited

In a third ruse, the scammers aim to startle taxpayers with a claim that their tax return will be audited.

This one is unusual, officials say, because the e-mails may contain the intended victim's name. That's way more personalized than spam scams sprayed into the Internet by the thousands or millions, just using one's e-mail address.

Seeing your name on the e-mail may lend it a sense of legitimacy, but it's still a scam, says the IRS.

The e-mail asks you to click on links and give your personal information, which would be unwise and lead to identity theft.

All true IRS Web page addresses begin with www.irs.gov.

And many people know that a link that looks like it's from a trusted organization can send you shooting off to crooks lurking somewhere in global cyberspace, using a technique called a redirect.

Rather than click on a link in an unsolicited e-mail, you should initiate contact with your bank or government agency yourself — using what you know to be the correct Web site address taken from independent material.

Scam No. 4 targets accountants, businesses and "treasury" managers, officials say, by sending e-mails telling them to download information about changes in tax laws.

Clicking on these links is believed to route computer code called malware into your hard drive. That can take over your computer, thus giving scammers remote access to it.

Malware also can ferret out passwords and other data in your hard drive and send them flying to the scammers. They may drain your accounts or take out a big loan at your expense, fouling your credit rating.

In the fifth and perhaps most preposterous pitch, callers have said someone's refund check has been sent. But, because it hasn't been cashed yet, the IRS needs to verify the person's account number.

Some of these callers have had foreign accents, the IRS says.

Taxpayers who receive fraudulent e-mails and want to help the government shut the senders down can forward them to phishing@irs.gov.