Pocono News Section

IRS Warns of E-Mail Scam

IRS Warns of E-Mail Scam - Thursday, September 27, 2007 at 6:11PM EST

Reported by: Jill Konopka
Thursday, Sep 27, 2007 @06:11pm EST
((WILKES-BARRE, LUZERNE COUNTY)) –

Now to the IRS e-mail scam that's already grabbed 25-thousand victims here in the United States. It promises tax refunds on one condition.

You must reply to an e-mail that includes lots of your personal information. In return, Uncle Sam is supposed to be sending you additional money.

But instead, your identity is stolen and your bank accounts wiped out! IRS Officials say they'll go for weeks without word on any wrongdoing, and then all of a sudden they'll get 6-7-8 calls a day about this latest e-mail scam.

IRS Officials say there are red flags that should indicate to you something isn't right. That's exactly what happened to Wikes-Barre City Councilman Jim McCarthy.

Wilkes-Barre’s Jim McCarthy recently received an e-mail promising more than $200.00 in tax refund money to his credit card.

Jim McCarthy said to WBRE News, "I said wow, a windfall, you never get a windfall from the government and so I started filling in the form and all of a sudden it dawned on me.” The sender, [email protected] just needed a little information.

McCarthy added, "They asked for my social security number, my pin number, something like that and I said this doesn't smell right."

So McCarthy called the IRS directly, just like we did. They say this is just another “phishing” scam and this time they're casting the net far and wide.

David Stewart with the IRS said, "These scams, they look real and that's probably why they're becoming more and more dangerous and you are seeing more and more of them." The IRS warns don't ever give out your personal information.

David Stewart added, "I think the key thing here is, you've got to know and I will put it in big bold letter, the IRS does not send people e-mails, we just don't do it' because it's not a secure way of sending information. Even if the e-mail sender looks ligit, like on McCarthy's memo.

His bogus message came copyrighted with click-able links and was sent straight from the IRS. Jim McCarthy added, "I said, but everything looks ligit, and the gentleman I spoke with said I'm sorry Mr. McCarthy you have been the victim of a scam and if you give the numbers they're asking for you won’t have a dime in your bank account tonight." Lucky for McCarthy, he caught the scam before it was too late.

He says a friend did not, but you too can protect yourself early on. Stewart added, "Does address have IRS.gov, do links in website work, click on a link they don't work or take you anyplace else that's a sign." The IRS says they can track these e-mails and shut the servers down.

Many of which have been linked to foreign countries in Europe and Asia. If anyone out there has received a bogus e-mail like Jim McCarthy did the IRS wants to hear from you. You can send it to [email protected].