Criminals that perpetrate fraud online are creative if nothing else. Whenever a new event happens that might cause someone to possibly get money somewhere, they use it to their advantage. After Hurricane Katrina hit, there were phishing emails that tried to get you to donate to help victims of the Hurricane, but the money didn’t go to the victims, it went into the pockets of criminals. When Congress recently passed the stimulus package, a wave of emails was sent out telling consumers that they could qualify for all sorts of new government grants, if they paid a sum of money to get the “inside information.”

Now, it’s tax season. There’s a fresh batch of fraudulent emails making the rounds allegedly from the Internal Revenue Service telling consumers that they have an refund of about $150.00 waiting for them. If you were to click on the link, you would be sent to a website that looks suspiciously like the IRS website, but the URL is something entirely different. If you were to actually fill out the form, you would find unauthorized charges on your credit card very soon after.

Here’s a copy of the email that recently showed up in my inbox:

After the last annual calculations of your fiscal activity we have determined that you are eligible to receive a tax refund under section 501(c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Tax refund value is $189.60. Please submit the tax refund request and allow us 6-9 days in order to IWP the data received. If u don’t receive your refund within 9 business days from the original IRS mailing date shown, you can start a refund trace online. If you distribute funds to other organization, your records must show wether they are exempt under section 497 (c) (15). In cases where the recipient org. is not exempt under section 497 (c) (15), you must have evidence the funds will be used for section 497 (c) (15) purposes. If you distribute fund to individuals, you should keep case histories showing the recipient’s name and address; the purpose of the award; the maner of section; and the realtionship of the recipient to any of your officers, directors, trustees, members, or major contributors. To access the form for your tax refund, please click here This notification has been sent by the Internal Revenue Service, a bureau of the Department of the Treasury. Sincerely Yours, John Stewart Director, Exempt. Organization Rulings and Agreements Letter Internal Revenue Service

Remember, that the internal revenue service does not contact tax payers via email. I would also wager to guess they know how to spell the words “you”, “whether”, “relationship”, and “manner” as well.