Scammers are using a website that mimics the The Internal Revenue Service’s e-Service online registration page, IRS officials said Tuesday.
Scammers are using a website that mimics the The Internal Revenue Service’s e-Service online registration page, IRS officials said Tuesday.
The real IRS e-Services page offers web-based products for tax preparers, not the general public. The phony web page looks almost identical to the real one, officials said.
“Criminals use these sites to lure people into providing personal and financial information that may be used to steal the victim’s money or identity,” officials added.
The address of the official IRS website is irs.gov. Sites that claim to be the IRS, but are not, may end in .com, .net, .org or other designations instead of .gov.
Email suspicious websites claiming to be the IRS to phishing@irs.gov. Use the subject line, “Suspicious website.”
Officials said the IRS does not initiate contact with taxpayers by email to request personal or financial information. This includes any type of electronic communication, such as text messages and social media channels.
Anyone receiving an unsolicited email that appears to be from the IRS should report it by sending it to phishing@irs.gov.
The IRS has information at irs.gov that can help protect people from tax scams of all kinds. Search the site using the term “phishing.”