Scammers are trying to get the attention of the many Americans who file electronically. Watch your inbox for phishing scams that pose as an IRS e-mail.
The scam works like this: You receive an e-mail saying your federal tax bank transfer failed. It appears to come from the Internal Revenue Service, but look closely at the "From" line; most likely you will see another e-mail address.
The e-mail gives a fake account number and urges you to check out the attached file, supposedly a Word document explaining the details of the failed transfer; however, the file is actually a virus.
The scammers behind this fraud stay right with it. Some consumers report receiving a follow-up e-mail with the subject line "SECOND NOTICE. Your IRS federal tax bank transfer is canceled."
You say to yourself, "I think I have found a scam, what should I do?"
Never, never click on any attachments or links. If you do download the file, be sure to run a virus scan on your computer.
If you receive a message such as the above or any suspicious e-mail posing as the IRS, forward the message to phishing@irs.gov and then delete, delete.
Attempted scam purported on businesses
The following e-mail was sent to me at my business e-mail address and some other businesses have reported basically the same:
From: quickbooks_payroll_service@intuit.com
Subject: SERVICE NOTICE: Your Tax Return was Rejected
RE: QuickBooks Tracking Number: 62213704
Your tax return IRS-941-FILING for EIN*****2715 has been Rejected by the IRS agency. For your reference, the Agency Acknowledgement Number for this filing, if one is provided by the agency is: 1166107104P2012-10-03.
You can also see this Rejected e-filing in your E-filing History.
Thank you for using Intuit QuickBooks Payroll to process your payroll tax forms.
Regards,TheIntuit QuickBooks Payroll Service Team http://payroll.com/support/enhanced
This notification is being sent to inform you of a critical matter. You will continue to receive critical notifications that could affect your service. Please do not reply to this e-mail. This notification service is not designed to accept or respond to e-mail inquiries.
Any business using QuickBooks could understandably become quite concerned with this e-mail, particularly after being told a return was been rejected by IRS. In this situation they could easily panic and out of fear click on the various links provided in this e-mail. (There are four links.) Of course, this is what the scammer hopes will happen. Clicking on the link could result in a virus that might even allow the con artist access to the recipient's computer.
These e-mails are being sent to numerous businesses regardless of what types of programs they might be using. The scammers go phishing hopeful of hooking victims.
Remember, this important point: The IRS does not initiate contact with taxpayers by e-mail to request personal or financial information. That's according to the IRS. To learn more visit www.irs.gov/uac/Report-Phishing.
Dreama Jensen is area director of the Better Business Bureau serving Northern Indiana. Contact the BBB at 574-675-9351 or visit www.bbb.org.
