Tax Scam Targets Armed Forces, Warns IRS

by Mike Godfrey, Tax-News.com, Washington

12 May 2003

The Internal Revenue Services has warned tax payers to be on the lookout for a common tax scam that targets the families of US servicemen and individuals via their email inbox.

Both schemes attempt to solicit personal information such as credit card numbers which are then used to make illegal purchases.

The IRS has reported variations of a scam where family members of servicemen have been contacted by telephone by somebody claiming to represent the agency and told they are entitled to a $4,000 tax refund. The caller then asks for a credit card number to cover a supposed $42.00 postage fee. To make the scam seem more authentic, the caller gives the victim a real IRS toll-free call back number.

Another trick employed by would-be fraudsters entails sending an email to a potential victim which is designed to look as if sent from the IRS, containing links to the actual IRS website. It asks the recipient to divulge certain sensitive personal information which could then be used to steal a person's identity. The IRS emphasises that it never asks people for such information.

The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration is currently investigating the phenomena and newly installed IRS Commissioner Mark Everson has urged taxpayers to remember that the "IRS does not charge for refunds or solicit credit card information."

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