The Wall Street Journal-20080131-Home - Family- IRS Warns of Scams Tied to Tax Rebates

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Home & Family: IRS Warns of Scams Tied to Tax Rebates

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Associated Press

WASHINGTON -- Even before Congress passes an economic-stimulus package, identity thieves are using promises of tax rebates to trick people into revealing financial and personal data, the Internal Revenue Service warned.

In one scheme, people receive phone calls telling them they can receive a rebate only if they provide bank-account information for a direct deposit.

The tax agency stressed that it doesn't collect information by telephone and that no legislation has been enacted that would allow it to provide advance payments to taxpayers.

Last week, the House, as part of an economic-stimulus package, approved tax rebates of $600 and $1,200, respectively, for most individuals and couples, with another $300 per child. The Senate is considering a slightly different version.

The IRS repeated past warnings of emails, supposedly coming from the agency, asking for personal information on a form needed to obtain a tax refund.

A new scam, it said, involves email notification that a tax return will be audited, with instructions to click on links to complete forms with personal and account information.

Businesses and accountants are getting emails with instructions to download information on tax-law changes. Clicking on these links could download "malware" that gives the scammer remote access to the computer hard drive.

In a telephone scam, a caller claims to be an IRS employee and says the taxpayer has not cashed a refund check, then asks the person to verify his or her bank-account number.

People receiving questionable emails can contact the IRS through [email protected].