The mailing of tax-reporting forms on Jan. 31 marked the beginning of this year's tax season. Unfortunately, identity thieves often prey upon taxpayers' nervousness over the power of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to obtain their personal and financial information. Thieves then use this personal information to drain victims' bank accounts or obtain credit in their names.
This year's rebate scam follows the lines of a traditional phone solicitation fraud. The caller claims to be an IRS employee and tells consumers they are eligible for a tax-rebate check from the government. But to process that rebate, people are informed they need to provide personal banking information. If they refuse to give this information, they are told they will not receive the money.
An e-mail version of this scam, also claiming to be from the IRS, encourages recipients to access a Web link or download and fill out an attached form to provide personal information.
Often recipients are led to believe that failing to provide the information will knock them out of good standing with the IRS, prevent them from receiving their rebate or refund or even cause them to be audited. The attachments can also contain spyware that enables the thief to steal victims' personal and financial information.
The Attorney General's Office and the IRS encourage you to follow these guidelines to protect yourself from identity thieves during the tax season:
- The only IRS Web site is www.irs.gov, and all genuine IRS Web pages begin with http://www.irs.gov/. If you want to access the IRS via Internet, you should type this address into your browser. Do NOT follow links provided in an e-mail.
- The IRS and the Arizona Department of Revenue do not send unsolicited tax-related e-mails to taxpayers and will never ask for personal information (such as Social Security, bank account or PIN numbers) via e-mail. If you receive an e-mail claiming to be from the IRS or Department of Revenue that asks for personal or tax-related information, you should be highly skeptical.
- As of this date, no legislation has been enacted to authorize the federal tax rebate or authorize the IRS to make payment of such a rebate.
- Be careful with all documents that contain personal financial or tax-related information.