[Kansasumc] Fw: 2008 Economic Stimulus Refund Scams

[Phil Shull]

MessageFrom my son who is as associate in the office of the Oregon Attorney General.  - Phil Shull

With the arrival of the 2008 Economic Stimulus Refund, new scams have surfaced.  The IRS reports the following types of scams are currently underway:

 

  a.. Rebate Phone Call - Consumers are receiving a phone call from individuals claiming to be IRS employees.  These fake employees claim that the consumer is eligible for a large rebate for filing taxes early.  The fake employees then claim to need the consumer's bank account information in order to do a direct deposit of this rebate.  Of course, if the consumer refuses to provide this information the fake IRS employee claims that the consumer can not then receive the rebate.  This is a scam, the IRS does not gather this information by telephone.
 

  a.. Refund e-Mail - A number of variations of a refund-related phishing e-mail which make false claims to be from the IRS are in circulation.  This fake e-mail attempts trick consumers into clicking on a link within the e-mail in order to access a refund claim form.  This refund claim form requires the consumer to provide personal information such as bank or credit card account in order to claim the refund.  This is a scam; the IRS does not send unsolicited e-mail about tax account matters to individuals, businesses, or other taxpayers.  Be safe, delete any e-mail from the IRS regarding this matter.
 

  a.. Audit e-Mail - A new scam being circulated through e-mail claims that a consumer's tax return will be audited.  This scam has not been seen before by the IRS.  Be aware this scam is a targeted attack as it is specific to the e-mail recipient by name.  This scam e-mail attempts to trick a consumer into following links to complete forms with personal and account information which will be then used by the scammers to commit identity theft.  This is a fake e-mail.  The IRS does not send unsolicited, tax-account related e-mails to taxpayers.  Delete any e-mails received form the IRS relating to this matter.
 

  a.. Changes to Tax Law e-Mail - This scam email is addressed to businesses, accountants and "Treasury" managers.  This e-mail attempts to trick these individuals or businesses into downloading information on tax law changes by following links within the e-mail.  When an individual or business clicks on these links their computers are infected with malicious software which then steals passwords, financial account information and other data. 
 

  a.. Paper Check Phone Call - This telephone scam claims to be an IRS employee who is calling because of an IRS check sent to the individual.  The fake IRS employee states that because the check has not been cashed the IRS wants to verify the bank account number.  The fake IRS employee may have a foreign accent.  The IRS will not call to verify whether or not a check has been cached and does not ask for bank account or other similar information.
 

These scams listed above all try to use social engineering to trick consumers, businesses, and other taxpayers into revealing personal and financial information.  If you are unsure about a phone call or e-mail that claims to be form the IRS then delete the e-mail or hang-up the phone.  

*****CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE*****

This e-mail may contain information that is privileged, confidential, or otherwise exempt from disclosure under applicable law. If you are not the addressee or it appears from the context or otherwise that you have received this e-mail in error, please advise me immediately by reply e-mail, keep the contents confidential, and immediately delete the message and any attachments from your system. 

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