Beware of U.S. Tax Phishing Scams

It's tax time in the U.S. and with that generally comes an increase in the number of phishing scams directed at taxpayers. The IRS, whether we like them or not, has an excellent anti-scam/anti-phishing web site. One key thing to remember is that the IRS does not initiate taxpayer communications through e-mail. Here's an excerpt from their site:

[quote:38w02edu]The IRS does not initiate taxpayer communications through e-mail.

* The IRS does not request detailed personal information through e-mail.
* The IRS does not send e-mail requesting your PIN numbers, passwords or similar access information for credit cards, banks or other financial accounts.

If you receive an e-mail from someone claiming to be the IRS or directing you to an IRS site,

* Do not reply.
* Do not open any attachments. Attachments may contain malicious code that will infect your computer.
* Do not click on any links...[/quote:38w02edu]

I highly recommend you visit the IRS site and heed their excellent advice: [url=http://www.irs.gov/privacy/article/0,,id=179820,00.html?portlet=5:38w02edu]How to Report and Identify Phishing, E-mail Scams and Bogus IRS Web Sites[/url:38w02edu]