Government Scams: IRS Scams - Link to http://woodbridge-mills.co.uk

Fake Government Agencies
IRS Scams - Fake Refund Email from the Internal Revenue Service
      United States Department of the Treasury

Have you received an email from the IRS, telling you that "After the last annual calculations of your fiscal activity we have determined that you are eligible to receive a tax refund of $___"; then  instructing you to "access your tax refund, click here"?

It is a scam.  The IRS will never, never email you unless you first contact them.  They WILL NOT EVER email you to tell you you owe money or are due to receive a refund; or for any other reason. Count on it.

If you hold your mouse over the "click here" link, you would see that it does NOT go to the IRS, but instead to a page on http://woodbridge-mills.co.uk which is clearly operating a scam and a fraud. We neutered the link in case it harbors a virus, but for thos who want to investigate it further here it is as text:

http://woodbridge-mills.co.uk/catalog/images/mail/.secure/.server/online_form/irs/0,,id=96596,00.html

We highlighted a few of the obvious signs (beyond that described above) that this is a scam. In general, notice the spelling mistakes, the "best regards" (obviously form someone who never dealt ith the IRS) and the absurd phrases, like a copyright for a government form letter.  It sounds like a couple of uneducated idiot criminals in Africa wrote it.  And that would be because they did.

 

Sample Scam IRS Email:

January 15, 2008, CFR received the following email:

From: Internal Revenue Service

Sent: Tuesday, January 15, 2008 2:02 AM

Subject: Internal Revenue Service

Internal Revenue Service
      United States Department of the Treasury

After the last annual calculations of your fiscal activity we have
determined that you are eligible to receive a tax refund of $109.
Please submit the tax refund request and allow us 3-9 days in order to
process it.

A refund can be delayed for a variety of reasons.
For example submitting invalid records or applying after the deadline.

To access your tax refund, please click here


Best Regards,
Tax Refund Deparment
Internal Revenue Service




� Copyright 2008, Internal Revenue Service U.S.A. All rights reserved.

Recommendations:

If you receive a call from this number or any group that claims to represent a government agency, take down their information, including the contact's name, phone number, etc. Do NOT give them any personal or financial information, especially not a credit card, checking or bank account number, passport number, etc.

Next, look up the direct phone or email address for the agency they claim to represent and call them.  Read them the email and ask if it could have come from their agency.

While we don't want to encourage people to ignore correspondence from legal government agencies, it is a safe bet that NO U.S. government agency will make any first contact with you by email. Certainly not the FBI or IRS.

The IRS offers this advice:

If you receive an unsolicited e-mail purporting to be from the IRS, take the following steps:

  • Do not open any attachments to the e-mail, in case they contain malicious code that will infect your computer.
  • Contact the IRS at 1-800-829-1040 to determine whether the IRS is trying to contact you about a tax refund.

And please let us know about any suspicious calls or emails you receive.  We look for patterns so that we can alert the authorities and victims to new scams, before it is too late!

How to Report a Tax Refund Scam Email:

If you receive a suspicious e-mail that claims to come from the IRS,

  1. Forward it to the IRS (phishing@irs.gov and
  2. Send a copy to ConsumerFraudReporting.org (via the feedback form)
  3. Please notify the IC3 by filing a complaint at www.ic3.gov and

Follow instructions in the link below for sending the bogus e-mail to ensure that it retains critical elements found in the original e-mail. The IRS can use the information, URLs and links in the suspicious e-mails you send to trace the hosting Web site and alert authorities to help shut down the fraudulent sites. Unfortunately, due to the expected volume, the IRS will not be able to acknowledge receipt or respond to you.

In the United States, you may also contact:

U.S. Secret Service
Financial Crimes Division
1800 G Street, NW
Room 942
Washington, DC 20223

Phone: (202) 435�5850

Fax: (202) 435�5031

Or contact the local U.S. Secret Service Field Office.

Frequently Asked Questions - 1.13 IRS Procedures: Reporting Fraud

How to Report Abusive Tax Promotions and/or Promoters:
Complete the referral form  which documents the information necessary to report an abusive tax avoidance scheme. The form can be mailed or faxed to the IRS address and fax number on the form.

How to Report Abusive CPAs, Attorneys or Enrolled Agents:
Report suspicious actions by tax professionals to the email address  of the IRS Office of Professional Responsibility.

 

Overseas

Contact the Foreign Commercial Service (FSC) at the nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate. If there is no FCS office, contact the American Citizens Services Unit of the Consular Section or the Regional Security Office.

For a comprehensive list of national and international agencies to report scams, see this page.

And please let us know about any suspicious calls or emails you receive.  We look for patterns so that we can alert the authorities and victims to new scams, before it is too late!

 

 

 

For a comprehensive list of national and international agencies to report scams, see this page.