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IRS Victim of Spoofing

A new phishing scam is being spread across the Internet through e-mails that claim to come from the IRS. The Associated Press reported on this rise in identity theft attempts during tax season in a March 14 story. The e-mail messages are hoax e-mails, also called phishing and spoofing. These phishing e-mails encourage tax filers to check the status of their tax refund by visiting a Web site included as a hyperlink in the message. The site, although extremely similar in graphics, text and appearance to www.irs.gov, is NOT a legitimate IRS site.

During this tax season, ensure your tax filing service is legitimate before sharing any personal information online.

Keep your personal information and your campus computing safe:

• Never respond to e-mails from unrecognized or unsolicited senders
• Never open unsolicited attachments
• Use a personal e-mail account (such as Hotmail or Yahoo! mail) when a Web site requires it for registration.
• Never provide personal or financial information on an Internet site unless you are confident that the site is secure and legitimate.
• Never provide credit card or bank account information in response to unsolicitied e-mail messages, regardless of how enticing or plausible the prospects.

Have further questions?
Contact the Information Systems Help Desk at xHELP (x4357),
or read the IRS official Web site on the issue.