Just like consumers try to stay ahead of identity theft, identity thieves are always thinking ahead to a bigger and better scam. A new one that has come up that is quite similar to an old one, involves e-mail and the IRS. The identity thief that designed the scam took to heart that consumers are wary of sending personal information over the Web when they are unsure of the source of an email. So what did this savvy thief do? He invited potential victims to send their information by fax instead.
The details of the IRS scam are as follows:
The thief sends an email pretending to be from the IRS and the victims open the email.
They read a message which states they need to open an attachment and fill out an official form.
They open the attachment, which is an actual IRS form and fill it out.
They fax the form to the phone number included in the email, which delivers it right to the identity thief.
IF the victim follows the directions in the email, the thief gets a boon of personal information, including the victim’s Social Security number, bank account number and a copy of his or her official identification.
The real IRS is currently trying to thwart the perpetrators of this scam. However, just like with other phishing emails, the thieves simply change email addresses when they are close to getting caught. This is relatively simple to do since they can even spoof addresses that do not actually belong to them. In some cases they may even be able to copy the IRS’s domain.
IRS spokesman David Stewart told the Philadelphia Inquirer that the IRS does not email Americans to ask for personal information. This means that any email like this, no matter how official it looks, is fake. However, many do not know this or learn only after it’s too late. That’s why a second level of security is essential.
This second level of security can come in the form of one of many identity theft protection services. Many of these plans closely monitor consumers’ credit files, which can be the first line of defense against identity theft. It will let them know if an identity thief has gotten his hands on personal information, whether he is selling it online or using it to open additional credit accounts or abuse existing ones. Compared to the cost of recovering one’s identity, these plans are very affordable, and many offer guarantees to help curtail the expenses incurred by identity theft. There are plans for individuals, for families and for children.
Don’t become one of the 10 million Americans who are victimized by identity theft each year. Keep your hands off the fax machine and pick up the phone if you think the IRS contacted you in an unofficial manner. It’s better to spend 10 minutes making a phone call than to perform an action you may regret later. Finding out a thief is pretending to be you can be way more painful than an audit.