Today’s Scam of the day is about a phishing email presently circulating that appears to come from the IRS informing you that you “are eligible to receive a tax return of $976.” The email contains the IRS logo, however, it is a simple matter to copy legitimate logos on to an email. The email prompts the person receiving it to click on a link to provide personal information necessary to “expedite the process and avoid further delays and penalties.” Of course if you do click on the link If you click on the link one of two things can occur and both are bad. Either you will end up providing personal information to an identity thief or you will, merely by clicking on the link, download dangerous malware such as ransomware on to your phone, computer or other device.
This particular phishing email is not particularly convincing and is riddled with indications that it is a scam. First, the email address of the sender has no relation to the IRS; Second, it never refers to the person it is being sent to by name, but only by “Dear Taxpayer;” Third, the grammar is atrocious and quite illogical since it purports to relate to sending you a payment, but then indicates that you need to respond in order to avoid penalties as well as incorrectly stating “receive a tax return of $976.00” rather than a tax refund.
TIPS
It is easy to know when you get an email from the IRS as to whether it really was sent by the IRS because the IRS will never initiate contact with you by an email, text message or phone call. If you have questions about your refund from the IRS, you can use this link for information about it. https://www.irs.gov/refunds/about-wheres-my-refund
BS, Be Skeptical. It is always a good rule to follow to never click on a link in an email or text message or provide personal information in response to an email or text message unless you have absolutely confirmed that the communication is legitimate.
If you are not a subscriber to Scamicide.com and would like to receive free daily emails with the Scam of the day, all you need to do is to go to the bottom of the initial page of http://www.scamicide.com and type in your email address on the tab that states “Sign up for this blog.”