IRS Warns of Email-Based Identity Theft Scam

The Internal Revenue Service and the Treasury Department have warned taxpayers of an email-based identity theft scam in which taxpayers are duped into revealing Social Security numbers, driver's license numbers, bank account and credit card numbers, and other personal information.

Prospective victims receive an email claiming that they are under investigation for tax fraud and are subject to prosecution. The email informs them they can assist the suppposed investigation by providing "real" information, then directs them to an apparently official web site, instructing them to provide detailed personal information in order to dispute the accusation.

At the request of the IRS and the Treasury Department's Inspector General for Tax Administration, the web site in question (formerly at http://www.deptreas.org/irs/7634) has been shut down by the Internet service provider that had been hosting it, pending a criminal investigation.

Federal authorities emphasize that the IRS does not use email to contact taxpayers about issues related to their accounts. Instead, official contacts with taxpayers by the IRS generally take the form of a letter on IRS stationery in an IRS envelope. IRS letters also contain a contact phone number.

Taxpayers who have received an email, purportedly from the IRS, that they believe may be fraudulent should call the toll-free fraud referral hotline of the Inspector General for the Treasury Department at 1-800-366-4484. The IRS may also be reached at 1-800-829-1040. An IRS representative will be able to verify the taxpayer's account status and determine whether a particular communication received by the taxpayer is legitimate.