{"id":2068,"date":"2019-04-06T19:33:54","date_gmt":"2019-04-06T19:33:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.syyhoaxanalyzer.com\/?p=2068"},"modified":"-0001-11-30T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"-0001-11-29T17:00:00","slug":"IRS-'Information-Records-Recently-Changed'-Phishing-Scam-Email","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.syyhoaxanalyzer.com\/?p=2068","title":{"rendered":"IRS ‘Information Records Recently Changed’ Phishing Scam Email"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"Phishing<\/a><\/p>\n

According to this email, which claims to be from America’s Internal Revenue Service (IRS), you are required to verify your billing information because your records have recently changed. It instructs you to open an attached file and load it in your browser in order to validate your information.<\/p>\n

The message warns that if you don’t abide \u00a0by the instructions, your tax refund may be restricted.<\/p>\n

However, the \u00a0email is not from the IRS and the claims that you must verify your information is a lie.<\/p>\n

Instead, the \u00a0email is a typical phishing scam designed to steal your personal information. If you click the attached file, a form will open \u00a0in your default web browser (see screenshot in example below). \u00a0The form, which features the IRS logo, asks \u00a0you to provide a significant amount of sensitive \u00a0personal information, including your SSN, your driver’s licence number, and name, contact, and employment details. The form even asks for details about your spouse.<\/p>\n

If you fill in the form and hit the submit button, cybercriminals can use the information you supplied to steal your identity.<\/p>\n

In this case, the scammers have included the form as an attached HTML document in an effort to bypass browser phishing scam filters. \u00a0In other cases, the scammers may ask you to click a link<\/a> that opens a bogus website designed to look like a genuine IRS web page.<\/p>\n

The IRS warns \u00a0people about such \u00a0phishing scams<\/a> on its website, noting:<\/p>\n

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The IRS doesn’t initiate<\/strong> contact with taxpayers by email, text messages or social media channels to request personal or financial information. This includes requests for PIN numbers, passwords or similar access information for credit cards, banks or other financial accounts.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Tax refund related scams<\/a> are very common and target taxpayers in a number of countries. The following Hoax-Slayer YouTube video provides more information about such scams.<\/p>\n