SPECIAL - IRS Warns of California Wildfire e-Mail Scam
SPECIAL - IRS Warns of e-Mail Scam Soliciting Donations to California Wildfire Victims.
IR-2007-183, Nov. 2, 2007
WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service today warned taxpayers to be on the lookout for a new e-mail scam that appears to be a solicitation from the IRS and the U.S. government for charitable contributions to victims of the recent Southern California wildfires.
In an effort to appear legitimate, the bogus e-mails include text from an actual speech about the wildfires by a member of the California Assembly.
The scam e-mail urges recipients to click on a link, which then opens what appears to be the IRS Web site but which is, in fact, a fake. An item on the phony Web site urges donations and includes a link that opens a donation form which requests the recipient’s personal and financial information.
“People should exercise caution when they receive unsolicited e-mail or e-mail from senders they don’t know,” said Richard Spires, IRS Deputy Commissioner for Operations Support. “They should avoid opening any attachments or clicking on any links until they can verify the e-mail’s legitimacy.”
The bogus e-mails appear to be a “phishing” scheme, in which recipients are tricked into providing personal and financial information that can be used to gain access to and steal the e-mail recipient’s assets.
The IRS also believes that clicking on the link downloads malware, or malicious software, onto the recipient’s computer. The malware will steal passwords and other account information it finds on the victim's computer system and send them to the scamster.
Generally, scamsters use the data they fraudulently obtain to empty the recipient’s bank accounts, run up charges on the victim’s existing credit cards, apply for new loans, credit cards, services or benefits in the victim’s name or even file fraudulent tax returns to obtain refunds rightfully belonging to the victim.
The complete text of the IRS Warning is available here. http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=175392,00.html
If you are aware of any internet scams related to this disaster please let SecurePCNews.com know and we will post it immediately.
Send information to feedback@securepcnews.com
IR-2007-183, Nov. 2, 2007
WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service today warned taxpayers to be on the lookout for a new e-mail scam that appears to be a solicitation from the IRS and the U.S. government for charitable contributions to victims of the recent Southern California wildfires.
In an effort to appear legitimate, the bogus e-mails include text from an actual speech about the wildfires by a member of the California Assembly.
The scam e-mail urges recipients to click on a link, which then opens what appears to be the IRS Web site but which is, in fact, a fake. An item on the phony Web site urges donations and includes a link that opens a donation form which requests the recipient’s personal and financial information.
“People should exercise caution when they receive unsolicited e-mail or e-mail from senders they don’t know,” said Richard Spires, IRS Deputy Commissioner for Operations Support. “They should avoid opening any attachments or clicking on any links until they can verify the e-mail’s legitimacy.”
The bogus e-mails appear to be a “phishing” scheme, in which recipients are tricked into providing personal and financial information that can be used to gain access to and steal the e-mail recipient’s assets.
The IRS also believes that clicking on the link downloads malware, or malicious software, onto the recipient’s computer. The malware will steal passwords and other account information it finds on the victim's computer system and send them to the scamster.
Generally, scamsters use the data they fraudulently obtain to empty the recipient’s bank accounts, run up charges on the victim’s existing credit cards, apply for new loans, credit cards, services or benefits in the victim’s name or even file fraudulent tax returns to obtain refunds rightfully belonging to the victim.
The complete text of the IRS Warning is available here. http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=175392,00.html
If you are aware of any internet scams related to this disaster please let SecurePCNews.com know and we will post it immediately.
Send information to feedback@securepcnews.com
Labels: california wildfire scams, email scam, fake email
posted by Aubrey Jones @ Friday, November 02, 2007
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