CONTACT

Barbara Read
VP/Communications Director
Telephone: 970-224-4222 / 800-564-0370 x118
Email: bread@mountainstates.bbb.org

Popping up on computer screens across the country is a new e-mail scam using the U.S. Treasury Department’s Electronic Federal Tax Payment System (EFTPS) as a hook to lure individuals into disclosing personal information.

The new e-mail scam purports to be from the IRS Antifraud Comission (sic), a fictitious group, and is filled with grammatical errors and typos. The e-mail claims someone has enrolled the taxpayer's credit card in EFTPS and has tried to pay taxes with it. The e-mail also says there have been fraud attempts involving the taxpayer's bank account. The e-mail claims money was lost and "remaining founds" (sic) are blocked. Recipients are asked to click on a link that will help them recover their funds, but the subsequent site asks for personal information that the thieves could use to steal the taxpayer’s identity.

The Mountain States Better Business Bureau cautions consumers that the IRS never asks people for the PIN numbers, passwords or similar secret access information for their credit card, bank or other financial accounts; nor does it send out unsolicited emails asking for personal information.

Since November, 104 different scams claiming to come from the IRS have been identified. Many originate outside the United States. Some schemes tell recipients they are due a federal tax refund, and direct them to a Web site that appears to be a genuine IRS site. The bogus sites contain forms or interactive Web pages similar to IRS forms or Web pages but which have been modified to request detailed personal and financial information from the e-mail recipients.

For information on identity theft prevention and victim assistance in relation to tax administration, visit the IRS Identity Theft Web page at IRS.gov. Enter the term "identity theft" in the search box in the upper right hand corner.

Additional identity theft tips for consumers can be found at www.mountainstates.bbb.org, or phone the BBB at 800-564-0371. It’s just good business!