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Scammers Play On Taxpayers' Audit Jitters

By Mark Huffman
ConsumerAffairs.com

January 27, 2007

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How would you respond if the Internal Revenue Service sent you a terse email telling you your tax return had been selected for an audit?

If you willingly provided the requested information, chances are 100 percent you'd get scammed.

The IRS doesn't send emails to taxpayers.

But with tax season in full swing and tax issues preoccupying most people at this time of year, scammers are sending out spam email informing taxpayers they have been selected for something called an "e-audit." In fact, there is no such thing.

"The IRS does not use e-mail to initiate contact with taxpayers about issues related to their accounts," the tax collection agency said in a notice on its Web site. "If a taxpayer has any doubt whether a contact from the IRS is authentic, the taxpayer should call 1-800-829-1040 to confirm it."

Those who respond to the email will be asked to submit their Social Security number and other personal data, which will be used to steal their identity. The scam is similar to another that targets taxpayers, telling them they have a refund coming and requesting personal information.

Tax-related phishing scams are popular with identity thieves, because more consumers are prone to be victimized.

A phishing email purporting to be from the victim's bank is much less likely to be effective with recipients who do not have an account at that particular bank. But everyone pays taxes, and security experts say a number of people have complied with emailed requests for personal data, thinking they were dealing with the IRS.

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