For the last couple of years I have had one or more panicky phone calls or e-mails from clients who have gotten threatening e-mails “from the IRS”. None of my clients has ever actually received an unsolicited e-mail from the IRS. I’m really confident of that, because the IRS does not contact people by e-mail. This does not, of course, prevent people sending out e-mails purporting to come from the IRS. IRS Tax Tip 2013-19 has just been released to remind people about this.
Since the e-mails are always phony, you should never respond to them. You should also not open any attachments, since they might contain malware.
Here are five other key points the IRS wants you to know about phishing scams.
1. The IRS does not initiate contact with taxpayers by email or social media channels to request personal or financial information;
2. The IRS never asks for detailed personal and financial information like PIN numbers, passwords or similar secret access information for credit card, bank or other financial accounts;
3. The address of the official IRS website is www.irs.gov . Do not be misled by sites claiming to be the IRS but ending in .com, .net, .org or anything other than .gov. If you discover a website that claims to be the IRS but you suspect it is bogus, do not provide any personal information on their site and report it to the IRS;
4. If you receive a phone call, fax or letter in the mail from an individual claiming to be from the IRS but you suspect they are not an IRS employee, contact the IRS at 1-800-829-1040 to determine if the IRS has a legitimate need to contact you. Report any bogus correspondence. Forward a suspicious email to phishing@irs.gov ;
5. You can help the IRS and other law enforcement agencies shut down these schemes. Visit the IRS.gov website to get details on how to report scams and helpful resources if you are the victim of a scam. Click on “Reporting Phishing” at the bottom of the page.
I like that they are encouraging you to be a good citizen and report this stuff. I remember the first time I received an e-mail telling me that I had been selected as being a particularly trustworthy person who could help arrange the transfer of millions of dollars that were sitting dormant in a bank account somewhere. I was concerned that there was something fraudulent about the whole thing and that someone who lacked my training and insight might fall for it. I contacted the FBI. I think they laughed at me. It had already been going on for a while.
One other thing. Do not ignore snail-mail from the IRS. That is how they contact you and often there are deadlines on when you need to respond to preserve your rights. If you work with a tax professional it is a good idea to fax him a copy before you call and ask about it, although I do find it entertaining to try to explain notices that I am not looking at.
You can follow me on twitter @peterreillycpa.
Originally published on Forbes.com Feb 24th, 2013