Wise County Sheriff's Department
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02-07-08            IRS Scam Information

On Feb. 7, 2008, the Wise County Sheriff’s Office received information from an area bank stating concerns about a new e-mail/telephone scam claiming the Internal Revenue Service is requesting certain information, which in fact, it is not.

 As always, we urge citizens not to give personal information of any kind to anyone on the phone or the internet. You can go online to the IRS website to verify any information claiming quicker refunds.

 Claims are being made that you may have your refund sent as a direct deposit to your bank account. In fact, when you filed for your taxes, you should have already made arrangements as to how you wanted to receive your refund.

The IRS website has a long list of scams and an explanation of how they are used on unsuspecting citizens. To get this information, you can go to the IRS website at phishing@irs.gov. The information below is a news release from the IRS from January 30, 2008, titled “The Advanced Payment Scams Starting"

Sgt Debbie Denney/PIO-CPO

IRS WARNS OF NEW E-MAIL AND TELEPHONE SCAMS USING THE IRS NAME; ADVANCED PAYMENT SCAMS STARTING

IR-2008-11, Jan. 30, 2008

WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service today warned taxpayers to beware of several current e-mail and telephone scams that use the IRS name as a lure. The IRS expects such scams to continue through the end of tax return filing season and beyond.

The IRS cautioned taxpayers to be on the lookout for scams involving proposed advance payment checks. Although the government has not yet enacted an economic stimulus package in which the IRS would provide advance payments, known informally as rebates to many Americans, a scam which uses the proposed rebates as bait has already cropped up.

The goal of the scams is to trick people into revealing personal and financial information, such as Social Security, bank account or credit card numbers, which the scammers can use to commit identity theft.

Typically, identity thieves use a victim’s personal and financial data to empty the victim’s financial accounts, run up charges on the victim’s existing credit cards, apply for new loans, credit cards, services or benefits in the victim’s name, file fraudulent tax returns or even commit crimes. Most of these fraudulent activities can be committed electronically from a remote location, including overseas. Committing these activities in cyberspace allows scamsters to act quickly and cover their tracks before the victim becomes aware of the theft.

People whose identities have been stolen can spend months or years — and their hard-earned money — cleaning up the mess thieves have made of their reputations and credit records. In the meantime, victims may lose job opportunities, may be refused loans, education, housing or cars, or even get arrested for crimes they didn't commit.