Michigan Attorney General Consumer Alerts are available at www.michigan.gov/ag
Toll free 1-877-765-8388
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CONSUMER ALERT
MIKE COX
ATTORNEY GENERAL
The Attorney General provides Consumer Alerts to inform the public of unfair,
misleading, or deceptive business practices, and to provide information and guidance on
other issues of concern.
IRS SCAMS
IRS Will Never Ask for Taxpayers' Personal Information by Phone or in E-mails
Anybody contacting you claiming to be from the IRS and asking you for personal
identifying information is a crook. Every year the IRS issues warnings about rebate or
other scams being perpetrated by con artists claiming to work for the agency. This year,
the passage of a federal economic stimulus plan provided yet another opportunity for
crooks to trick people into revealing personal identifying information.
The goal of these crooks is to commit identity theft, take control of personal computers,
or simply duping people out of cash. IRS scams enable con artists to get bank account
information, Social Security numbers, or credit and debit card details that are then used to
commit identity theft.
IRS E-MAIL SCAMS
E-mail continues to be the method of choice for IRS scams. Common e-mail tricks used
by these crooks include using:
the official IRS logo,
whole sections of text from the IRS's website,
a fake "from" address (reported Michigan variations include
irs@getrefundnow.com, support@irs.gov, service@irs.jg.gov, taxrefunds@
irs.gov and other variations on the irs.gov theme),
forms with numbers similar to those the IRS already uses, often with a
jumble of numbers and letters.
Dont fall for any e-mail scams! The IRS never initiates e-mails to taxpayers!
Michigan Attorney General Consumer Alerts are available at www.michigan.gov/ag
Toll free 1-877-765-8388
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Refund E-mail. Several variations of this bogus e-mail exist, all falsely claiming to
come from the IRS and informing the recipient to click on a link to access a refund claim
form that requires personal identifying information. The crooks try to make this look
legitimate by using a specific refund sum that sounds convincing (reported Michigan
variations include $134.80 and $184.80). A recent new twist is aimed at tax-exempt
organizations and includes the name and a fake signature of an actual IRS employee.
The "Where's My Refund?" variation of this bogus e-mail offers track your refund and
asks for your last name, Social Security Number, and credit card information.
Audit E-mail. This bogus e-mail informs the recipient that his or her tax return will be
audited. As if the threat of an audit was not enough to get someone's attention, the e-mail
may include a greeting in the body addressed to the specific recipient by name.
Tax Law Changes E-mail. Directed at accountants and businesses, this bogus e-mail
invites the recipient to download information on tax law changes. Clicking on the link
downloads malware. Malware is short for malicious software and describes software
designed to infiltrate or damage a computer system without the owner's informed
consent. Malware can take over the victim's computer hard drive, giving someone
remote access to the computer, or it could look for or record passwords or other
information and send that valuable personal identifying information to the crook.
Cash Reward for Completing Online Customer Satisfaction Survey. This e-mail
purports to pay taxpayers for completing an online survey that, of course, includes
questions asking for personal identifying information.
IRS PHONE SCAMS
Rebate Phone Call. Aimed at seniors, the caller identifies himself as an IRS employee
and tells the targeted victim that he is eligible for a sizable rebate for filing taxes early.
The fake IRS employee states that he needs the target's bank account information for
direct deposit of the rebate.
Paper Check Phone Call. In this telephone scam, a fake IRS employee indicates the
IRS sent a check that has not been cashed and the IRS needs to verify the individual's
bank account number. The only way the IRS collects your bank account details is if you
choose to put them in your tax return.
Michigan Attorney General Consumer Alerts are available at www.michigan.gov/ag
Toll free 1-877-765-8388
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WHAT TO DO IF YOU GET AN E-MAIL OR PHONE CALL PURPORTING TO
COME FROM THE IRS
If you know the e-mail or call purports to be from the IRS, don't open the e-mail or
answer the phone. You may forward e-mails to phisghing@irs.com, the address
established by the IRS to receive, track, and shut down these scams. Detailed
instructions for how to send the e-mails are in the IRS's publication "How to Protect
Yourself from Suspicious E-Mails or Phishing Schemes" available at:
http://www.irs.gov/individuals/article/0,,id=155344,00.html
You may not receive an individual response to your e-mail because of the volume of
reports the IRS receives each day.
You may also report misuse of the IRS name, logo, forms, or other IRS property to the
Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration toll-free at 1-800-366-4484.
Also remember that the only genuine IRS website is www.irs.gov. You should never get
to this site using a link embedded into an e-mail, instead enter the address in your
browser. A website embedded into an e-mail can easily take you to a fake site.
BEWARE OF ADVANCE REFUND LOANS
An advance refund loan is a loan based on money you are expecting to get as a tax
refund. These loans can be legitimate but lenders charge huge rates of interest and fees.
Sending your return in on time will sometimes get your money is just a few weeks,
without a hefty price.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Consumers may contact the Attorney General's Consumer Protection Division at:
Consumer Protection Division
P.O. Box 30213
Lansing, MI 48909
517-373-1140
Fax: 517-241-3771
Toll free: 877-765-8388
www.michigan.gov/ag (online complaint form)
