Fraudsters from IRS

There a lot of things that all people don't like. One of such things is becoming a victim of fraudsters. Another one is paying taxes. And what if these two things are coming together? The Better Business Bureau (BBB) warns everybody that every tax season swindlers come out to hunt for innocent customers. Pretending to be the officers of Internal Revenue Service (IRS) various kinds of swindlers trying to get as much identity information as it is possible. And at this they use all available means including mail, e-mail and telephone.

Basing on the reports of Justice Department during the past seven years more than 500, 000 consumers became victims of fraudsters, having lost approximately $2.5 billion.

There are a lot of ways to trick innocent citizenry. Very often swindlers use phishing e-mails that really look as the genuine one with IRS logo and name of the recipient. Frequently they contain hyperlink that direct the consumers to some definite website where system automatically install some viruses and malware on the victim's computer due to which the stealing of personal information is not a great deal.

Other potential victims of malefactors are non-residents of the US. Besides some bogus letters this category of people can receive a fake form W-8BEN for establishing appropriate tax withholding. People are asked to fill out the form providing information on account numbers, pin numbers, their passport numbers and the maiden name of their mother. It's necessary to know that non-U.S. residents are not required to provide personal information in form W-8BEN.

But if you got a letter from IPS or tax-related forms that does not indicate fraud. When getting such letters it is necessary to go to the official website of IRS http://www.irs.gov/ and to verify the authenticity of forms by comparing online forms with the ones received by e-mail.  

In any case BBB advices consumers to check twice the identity of the sender or caller before providing any personal or identity information.

Aynny, reporter of Ecommerce Journal