Scammers Now Sending Fake IRS Emails to Unsuspecting Taxpayers

Posted on October 06, 2016

The IRS has recently warned of a new type of scam consisting of fake IRS emails sent to unsuspecting taxpayers.

When you file a tax return, you report your income on that tax return from Forms W-2, Forms 1099 and related documents. The entities that send these forms to you at the end of each year also send copies to the IRS. The IRS then matches the income listed on your tax return against the income information sent to the IRS about you by third parties. If the IRS believes that there is unreported income on your tax return, it sends a letter to you containing an IRS form called a CP 2000.

The IRS will never send a Form CP 2000 to you via email. However, IRS impersonators are sending emails to unsuspecting taxpayers transmitting fake Forms CP 2000 to them via email along with a payment voucher demanding payment.

If you received an email from the IRS demanding payment, it is most certainly a scam. You should immediately forward the email to the IRS at phishing@irs.gov and then permanently delete the email from your account. If you receive an IRS notice in the mail and question whether it is fraudulent, you can perform a keyword search on www.irs.gov to view images of common IRS correspondence to determine whether the letter is legitimate.

Please remember that IRS impersonation scams can take many forms, including threatening telephone calls, phishing emails and demanding letters. Have you received a letter or email from the IRS? Contact us, we can help.