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CREDIT, COLLEGE, TAXES AND REAL ESTATE
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Nothing strikes fear in the hearts of U.S. taxpayers more than a letter from the IRS. But if you receive such a missive via e-mail, relax. No matter how authentic it looks, it's fake. "The IRS does not initiate contact with taxpayers through e-mail," says Linda Stiff, the IRS's deputy commissioner for operations support.
The latest tax spam says that after calculating your "fiscal activity," the IRS has determined that you're eligible to receive a refund-often an odd amount, such as $63.80. The e-mail then directs you to a convincing replica of an official IRS site, a Web site titled "Get Your Tax Refund!" Just like the IRS's real "Where's My Refund?" page, the fake one asks you to enter your Social Security number plus your filing status.
However, the phony site also asks you to list your credit-card or debit-card account numbers. That's something the real IRS would never do. Instead, in authentic IRS communications, you're asked to enter the exact amount of the refund shown on your tax return. Another phony e-mail promises to pay taxpayers $80 for participating in an online customer-satisfaction survey.
If you're the target of one of these "phishing" expeditions, don't open any attachments or click on any links. Instead, forward the suspicious message to phishing@irs.gov. So far, the IRS has received more than 30,000 e-mails from taxpayers reporting almost 400 separate scams.
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