This is the time of the year when people prepare their taxes and scammers will target unsuspecting victims. You might be one of the thousands that will receive suspicious emails, phone calls, faxes, or notices claiming to be from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS.)  Don’t be fooled! These scammers are hoping to trick you into revealing personal and financial information.

What the IRS wants You to Know about Phishing Scams

• Phishing (as in “fishing for information” and “hooking” victims) is a scam where Internet fraudsters send e-mail messages to trick unsuspecting victims into revealing personal and financial information that can be used to steal the victims’ identity. 
• The IRS doesn’t ask for detailed personal and financial information like PIN numbers, passwords or secret access information for credit cards, banks or other financial accounts. 
• The IRS does not initiate taxpayer communications through e-mail and won’t send a message about your tax account.  If you receive an e-mail from someone claiming to be the IRS or directing you to an IRS site:
  •      Do not reply to the message.
  •      Do not open any attachments.  Attachments may contain malicious codesthat will infect your computer.  
• Do not click on any links.  If you clicked on links in a suspicious e-mail or phishing website and entered confidential information, visit the IRS Identity Theft resource page.
• Forward the email to the IRS at phishing@irs.gov.  After you send the email, delete the original email.
• The address of the official IRS website is http://www.irs.gov.  Do not be confused or misled by Web sites claiming to be the IRS that end in .com, .net, .org, or other designation instead of .gov.  If you   suspect the website is bogus, do not provide any personal information and report it to the IRS.
• If you receive a phone call, fax, or letter in the mail from an individual claiming to be from the IRS, but you suspect they are not an IRS employee, contact the IRS at 800-829-1040 to determine if the IRS has a legitimate need to contact you.  Report all bogus correspondence or calls.
• You can help shut down these schemes and prevent others from being victimized by reporting anything suspicious to the IRS.

For more information visit Internal Revenue Service Web site.