Identity Theft Phishing Done With IRS Logo And Name
In recent months the IRS (Internal Revenue Service) has been issuing warnings to consumer with regard to their name and logo being used by scam artist in order for these scammers to gain access to a person’s financial information. This is now becoming known as identity theft phishing and is a way in which unscrupulous people can gain access to a person’s identity and the assets that they own.
One of the ways in which these scams is being carried out is that they will send a person an email in which they claim that it has been sent to the intended victim by the IRS and states that they are in fact due a tax refund. However in order to obtain the refund they must provide certain details to the sender of the email relating to their bank account and personal details and the funds will then be paid directly into their bank account. However what these people are in fact doing is getting hold of your financial and personal information in order that they themselves can gain access to your bank account or apply for loans and credit cards with other financial lenders with the intent of leaving you holding the bag.
As well as these people being able to gain access to your personal bank accounts and running up additional costs on your credit card, these people will use your personal information in order to commit fraudulent acts or take part in other criminal activities. Unfortunately for those people who have already found that they have been a victim of identity theft, it can take them months or even years to get the problems rectified. In some cases this has resulted in them not getting the job that they wanted or finding that they have been refused loans. For others, it has even resulted in them being arrested for crimes that they did not actually commit.
However there are ways in which a person can help to ensure that these kinds of schemes get stopped before they actually have the chance to claim more victims. The IRS now has a facility where if a person receives an email which they feel is suspicious and which purportedly comes from the IRS, it can be sent to them. All you now need to do is send the email that you have been sent by the phisher to phishing@irs.gov. Once the IRS receives the email that you have been sent, they will then use the URLs and links within the email to trace what website is actually hosting it and can then alert the authorities in order to get these sites closed down. Because of the large number of emails that they are now receiving on a daily basis relating to identity theft phishing the IRS is in fact unable to provide confirmation to you or anyone else that they have received yours.
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