Written by: Karen Reed, EA
The IRS never initiates contact with taxpayers by email. If you receive an email purporting to be from the IRS, do not be fooled. Responding to a phony IRS email could lead to theft of your personal information, and clicking links or opening attachments could expose your computer to harmful viruses.
IRS impersonation schemes are not limited to email. Telephone, fax, internet and social networking sites are also being used by identity thieves to fraudulently obtain personal and financial information. Variations of the scam include requests to complete refund applications, customer satisfaction surveys, and forms relating to fraud investigations or charitable donations.
Messages claiming to be from the IRS should be forwarded to phishing@irs.gov
The people behind these phishing scams or the real IRS could contact you at anytime. If you want to make sure the contact is real, it is a good idea to purchase an audit defense membership. Should the IRS or state taxing agency contact you about your covered return, a tax audit specialist will determine if the contact is a phishing attempt or a real contact. If the contact is real, the tax audit specialist will also clearly explain what the letter means and represent you in front of the IRS or state agency.
This information is being provided to the taxpayer as required by the Internal Revenue Service and follows the guidelines for best practices for tax advisors per Circular 230 §10.33(a)(1-4), and §10.35(b)(2),(8), and (10). This written statement may be considered to be a “covered opinion” as defined by the Internal Revenue Service. This statement(s), along with subsequent correspondence, is not intended or written to be used, and cannot be used by the taxpayer, for the purpose of avoiding lawful penalties that may be imposed on the taxpayer by the Internal Revenue Service. The principal purpose of any stated tax advice included here has as its purpose to claim tax benefits in a manner consistent with the statutes and Congressional intent.
