The Internal Revenue Service warns that it has discovered two new schemes that seek to cheat families of people in the armed forces and separately those who get electronic messages.
In one scenario, a telephone caller posing as an IRS employee tells a family member that he is entitled to a $4,000 refund and asks for a credit card number to cover a $42 fee for postage.
The caller provides an actual IRS toll-free number in order to make the call seem legitimate. Then, the caller uses the credit card number to make unauthorized purchases.
The IRS states that its employees do not ask for credit card numbers or seek fees for refund payments.
In the other scheme, victims receive an e-mail that appears to be from the IRS. The e-mail contains links to a non-IRS Internet website that seeks personal and financial information. The information can be used fraudulently to take the victims financial accounts, run up charges on the victim's credit cards, use for loan applications in the victim's name or file fraudulent tax returns.
The IRS doesn't request sensitive personal and financial information by e-mail.
Call (800) 366-04484 to report such scams.
In one scenario, a telephone caller posing as an IRS employee tells a family member that he is entitled to a $4,000 refund and asks for a credit card number to cover a $42 fee for postage.
The caller provides an actual IRS toll-free number in order to make the call seem legitimate. Then, the caller uses the credit card number to make unauthorized purchases.
The IRS states that its employees do not ask for credit card numbers or seek fees for refund payments.
In the other scheme, victims receive an e-mail that appears to be from the IRS. The e-mail contains links to a non-IRS Internet website that seeks personal and financial information. The information can be used fraudulently to take the victims financial accounts, run up charges on the victim's credit cards, use for loan applications in the victim's name or file fraudulent tax returns.
The IRS doesn't request sensitive personal and financial information by e-mail.
Call (800) 366-04484 to report such scams.
