Posted by LWM Team on Thu, Jan 07, 2010
Spam is a very common nuisance on the Internet these days, and unfortunately it seems like spammers are getting smarter every day by creating new and enticing headlines to get users to click on malicious links or to download viruses. One of the most insidious tactics that spammers are now using is generating IRS spam that appears to come from an IRS e-mail address and contains import financial information that you may consider vital.
Typical IRS spam that you may run across will include things like phony tax return attachments or links to check out your refund. Now, most people know to never download attachments from e-mails as they are almost always viruses. However many people do not understand that clicking on a link in an e-mail can be just as dangerous; as most of these links go to websites that will install malware on your system.
The best way to avoid IRS spam is to know that the IRS will never send you an e-mail unsolicited. Unless you specifically request information from them the IRS does not communicate by e-mail in a general way. Granted, this may change someday however as it stands you should never believe anything in an e-mail claiming to be from the IRS unless you specifically requested information.
Should you happen to receive the IRS spam you should forward any information to phishing@irs.gov in order to help the government fight back against spammers. False and misleading information is of grave concern to the IRS therefore they take the information they receive from users quite seriously. With e-mail communications becoming more and more common these days it is in the best interest of the IRS to ensure that their name does not get sullied in a way that prevents them from sending e-mail communications in the future.