Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Tax Scam Email

The IRS has warned taxpayers to beware of email messages purported coming from them. Here is what they publish on their web site:

If you receive an unsolicited e-mail communication claiming to be from the IRS, please forward the original message to: phishing@irs.gov.... You may not receive an individual response to your e-mail because of the volume of reports we receive each day.

▸ The IRS does not initiate taxpayer communications through e-mail. In addition, the IRS does not request detailed personal information through e-mail or ask taxpayers for the PIN numbers, passwords or similar secret access information for their credit card, bank or other financial accounts.
▸ Do not open any attachments to questionable e-mails, which may contain malicious code that will infect your computer. Please be advised that the IRS does not initiate contact with taxpayers via e-mails.

For more details, visit http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=155682,00.html

Recently, Symantec reported that there have been email messages claim to come from a suspicious-looking e-mail address called fannyxxx@turbotax.cn:

From: "TurboTax Support"
Subject: New TurboTax Update

Dear TurboTax User,

Due to changes in IRS requirements, we are requiring all TurboTax users to update their software to the current version. The process takes less then 30 seconds, and is done completely in the background. To begin the update, please visit turbotax.com/update and click "Open" when asked to begin the download. After doing so, no further action is required on your part. Thank you for your cooperation regarding this matter.

Sincerely,
TurboTax Customer Support

Instead of linking to the fictitious update site, the messages actually take users to a site with an alphabetically randomized address that contains a blank page with a pop-up that asks the user to download a file that could expose them to identity theft.

Symantec warns users about this message, as well as an e-mail message that purports to come from the Internal Revenue Service telling recipients to download tax software in order to receive their tax refund. The e-mail instead links them to a virus.

For more info, visit http://www.symantec.com/enterprise/security_response/weblog/2008/03/spammers_impersonate_irs_and_o.html.