IRS Notice of Email Fraud
The IRS has just issued a fraud alert warning taxpayers to be on guard against fake emails purporting to contain an IRS tax bill related to the Affordable Care Act.” This IRS Notice of Email Fraud states that the IRS has received numerous reports around the country of scammers sending a fraudulent tax notices.This is a serious issue, and it has been reported to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, for investigation. It is important to remember that a Notice from the IRS are always mailed to taxpayers through the United States Postal Service. A notice is never sent as part of an email to taxpayers.The IRS does not initiate contact with taxpayers by email or through social media platform The tax notices appear to be issued from an Austin, Texas, address. The fraudulent notice included a payment request that taxpayers mail a check made out to “I.R.S.” to the “Austin Processing Center” at a Post Office Box address. This is in addition to a “payment” link within the email itself. Any such IRS Notice of email fraud are an attempt to defraud. Taxpayers or tax professionals who receive this scam email should delete it from their email account.A representative for the Internal Revenue is quoted: “We remind you that the IRS will never contact you about any tax matter by phone or email first. They will always send a letter by US mail. Still, if you receive any letter about a tax bill and you are not sure if it is real, contact our offices, we would be glad to help you verify if it is authentic, and/or help you resolve the matter if it is a legitimate concern. Article reprinted from MBAF.com
People deceived by the fake emails have provided thieves with their personal information including social security numbers and even security codes to bank accounts. The fraudulent emails have required people to file for Chapter 7 Bankruptcy after bank accounts have been drained.