Cloudeight Windows Tips and Tricks

In the U.S.A. it's tax time. It's our favorite time of year, when all citizens get a chance to tithe to Uncle Sam. This year, Uncle Sam is going to borrow money from China and give most of us the money in the form of a rebate check hoping we'll all go out and buy big screen TVs made in China, cars made in Japan, or computers made in Mexico. This is somehow supposed to "stimulate" the economy and make us all feel good about Uncle Sam. Of course, anytime you borrow money you have to pay it back. Since without us (the citizens) Uncle Sam has no money, guess who's eventually going to have to pay back the money that Uncle Sam borrowed to give us all a gift? That's right - you and me. Uncle Sam gives us a gift and eventually we have to pay for it. Can you imagine doing that to your family at Christmas?

Anyway, there are many scams that surface during tax time every year. This week it's going to be even worse because of the gifts we're about to receive from Uncle Sam. But, at least Uncle Sam does do something useful with some of the money we tithe to him - he set up a very good Web site that lists some of the scams from this year and previous years. Hopefully, if you read the information below you'll better recognize the scams and phishing schemes already floating around the Web.

Before we bring you this information from Uncle Sam, we want to remind all of you that if you plan on filing electronically make sure you do it from your tax preparer's office or from home. Never file your taxes from a public computer or from your own laptop connected to a public network - i.e. don't plan on sitting at Starbuck's, sipping latte, and filing your taxes from there. Open networks like Starbuck's can be "sniffed" and your personal information (like your Social Security number) can be snatched right out of the air. So file electronically from your home or from your tax preparer's office and you'll be lot safer.

Now some really good information about current scams and phishing schemes.

Rebate Phone Call

At least one scheme using the word “rebate” as part of the lure has been identified. In that scam, consumers receive a phone call from someone identifying himself as an IRS employee. The caller tells the targeted victim that he is eligible for a sizable rebate for filing his taxes early. The caller then states that he needs the target’s bank account information for the direct deposit of the rebate. If the target refuses, he is told that he cannot receive the rebate.

This phone call is a scam. No legislation has yet been enacted that would allow the IRS to provide advance payments to taxpayers or that determines the details of those payments. Moreover, the IRS does not force taxpayers to use direct deposit. Those who opt for direct deposit do so by completing the appropriate section of their tax return, with bank routing and account information, when they file; the IRS does not gather the information by telephone.

Refund e-Mail
The IRS has seen several variations of a refund-related bogus e-mail which falsely claims to come from the IRS, tells the recipient that he or she is eligible for a tax refund for a specific amount, and instructs the recipient to click on a link in the e-mail to access a refund claim form. The form asks the recipient to enter personal information that the scamsters can then use to access the e-mail recipient’s bank or credit card account.

In a new wrinkle, the current version of the refund scam includes two paragraphs that appear to be directed toward tax-exempt organizations that distribute funds to other organizations or individuals. The e-mail contains the name and supposed signature of the Director of the IRS’s Exempt Organizations business division.

This e-mail is a phony. The IRS does not send unsolicited e-mail about tax account matters to individual, business, tax-exempt or other taxpayers.

Filing a tax return is the only way to apply for a tax refund; there is no separate application form. Taxpayers who wish to find out if they are due a refund from their last annual tax return filing may use the “Where’s My Refund?” interactive application on this Web site, IRS.gov. The only official IRS Web site is located here at www.irs.gov .

Audit e-Mail
Another new scam brought to IRS attention contains features not seen before by the IRS. Using a technique calculated to get almost anyone’s attention, the e-mail notifies the recipient that his or her tax return will be audited. This is the first scam of which the IRS is aware that uses this to get the victim to respond.

Unusual for a scam e-mail, it may contain a salutation in the body addressed to the specific recipient by name. Most scam e-mails seen by the IRS are sent using the same technique used by spammers, in which hundreds of thousands of messages are sent to potential victims based on Internet address. Because of the volume, the typical scam e-mail is not personalized.

This e-mail instructs the recipient to click on links to complete forms with personal and account information, which the scammers will use to commit identity theft.

This e-mail is a phony. The IRS does not send unsolicited, tax-account related e-mails to taxpayers.

Changes to Tax Law e-Mail
This bogus e-mail is addressed to businesses, accountants and “Treasury” managers. It instructs them to download information on tax law changes by clicking on a series of links to publications on businesses, estate taxes, excise taxes, exempt organizations and IRAs and other retirement plans. The IRS believes that clicking on a link downloads malware onto the recipient’s computer. Malware is malicious code that can take over the victim’s computer hard drive, giving someone remote access to the computer, or it could look for passwords and other information and send them to the scamster. There are other types of malware, as well.

The urls contained in the link are not legitimate IRS Web addresses. All IRS.gov Web page addresses begin with http://www.irs.gov/ .

Paper Check Phone Call
In a current telephone scam, a caller claims to be an IRS employee who is calling because the IRS sent a check to the individual being called. The caller states that because the check has not been cashed, the IRS wants to verify the individual’s bank account number. The caller may have a foreign accent.

In reality, the IRS leaves it entirely up to the individual to choose to cash or not cash a paper check. The IRS has no business need to know, and does not ask for, bank account or similar information, except when taxpayers indicate on their tax return that they are opting for the direct electronic deposit of their refund. In that case, however, it is the individual’s responsibility to provide the IRS with the correct bank routing and account numbers on the tax return; the IRS does not contact taxpayers to verify the information.
What to Do

Anyone wishing to access the IRS Web site should initiate contact by typing the IRS.gov address into their Internet address window, rather than clicking on a link in an e-mail or opening an attachment.

Those who have received a questionable e-mail claiming to come from the IRS may forward it to a mailbox the IRS has established to receive such e-mails, phishing@irs.gov , using instructions contained in an article titled “How to Protect Yourself from Suspicious E-Mails or Phishing Schemes.” Following the instructions will help the IRS track the suspicious e-mail to its origins and shut down the scam. Find the article by visiting IRS.gov and entering the words “suspicious e-mails” into the search box in the upper right corner of the front page.

Those who have received a questionable telephone call that claims to come from the IRS may also use the phishing@irs.gov  mailbox to notify the IRS of the scam.

Visit the following IRS.GOV sites to check for the latest on scams, identity theft, and phishing schemes:

http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=98269,00.html

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