Office of the Circuit Attorney

The IRS is currently warning taxpayers of an active email scam in the Midwest.  The scam involves emails supposedly sent from the IRS that bear copycat logos and the names of real IRS officials.  The recipients are told that their payment for taxes due has been rejected.  They are then asked to click on a link in order to fill out an attached form and thereby resolve the payment rejection issue.  However, the attachment actually contains a virus.  This virus allows the scammer to gather personal and financial information from the recipient's computer.

IRS spokesperson Michael Devine says that the IRS will never send an email asking for personal information to any taxpayer.  All correspondence regarding any problem with your tax return will be through the U.S. Mail.  This official IRS letter will describe the problem and contain contact information for the person or agency who can help you resolve the issue.

If you receive an email that claims to be from the IRS, remember the following:

• Do not respond to it.
• Do not open any attachments.
• Do not click on any links in the email.

To assist the IRS in locating and prosecuting the criminals perpetrating this scam, you can do the following:

• Call 1-800-829-1040 to determine if the IRS is indeed trying to contact you regarding your tax return.
• Forward any email claiming to be from the IRS to phishing@irs.gov

For additional information, you may call the Fraud Assistance Hotline at (314) 612-1412.