Reporting on the Latest Frauds, Scams, Fake Lotteries, Spams and Hoaxes
Have you received a phone call from the IRS, telling you that "Your Treasury Department FCU account is expired"; then instructing you to "access the form for your tax refund, click here"?
It is a scam. The IRS will never, never phone you unless you first contact them. They WILL NOT EVER phone you to tell you you owe money or are due to receive a refund; or for any other reason. Count on it.
April 10, 2008, CFR received the following email reporting the scam:
Good Afternoon,
I heard on the radio a scam for identity theft right around the tax season. The idea of the scam was that you would get a random cell phone call from our governments "Treasury Department" with some random inquiry. They trick you into giving them your SSN and other personal information...etc.. Of course our Treasury Department only communicates to taxpayers via mail.
Well, low and behold, today I receive a text message on my call phone from "Marketing@massiveinc.com" with the message: Your Treasury Department FCU account is expired, for renewal please call us toll free 818-462-5049. Of course, I am not calling back but I wanted to pass on this information to those that may not be aware of this scam. If you know how I can report this to any higher authority please let me know.
Thank you.
Clearly, this phone call and it's associated website is criminal activity intended to steal your money or identity!
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. Tell them what happened 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 phone. Certainly not the FBI or IRS.
If you receive an unsolicited e-mail or phone call purporting to be from the IRS, take the following steps:
And please let us know about any suspicious calls or phone calls you receive. We look for patterns so that we can alert the authorities and victims to new scams, before it is too late!
If you receive a suspicious e-mail that claims to come from the IRS,
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.
U.S. Secret ServicePhone: (202) 435�5850 Fax: (202) 435�5031 Or contact the local U.S. Secret Service Field Office.
Financial Crimes Division
1800 G Street, NW
Room 942
Washington, DC 20223
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.
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.