Utahns are warned about 2 tax-rebate scams

0 Comments | Deseret News (Salt Lake City), Mar 1, 2008 | by Pat Reavy Deseret Morning News

An e-mail claims you are eligible to receive an income tax refund. A caller says you soon will receive your rebate from the federal government. Both the e-mail and caller ask for personal information in order for the refunds to be processed.

What both have in common is that they're part of a nationwide scam that has hit Utah.

With the recent approval of rebate checks from the federal government and with tax return season around the corner, the Utah Division of Consumer Protection is warning residents there are two new fraud schemes trying to take advantage of people who believe they're about to get money from the government.

"I cannot stress enough, never will you get a phone call from the IRS. Never will you get an e-mail," said Utah Department of Commerce executive director Francine Giani. "We've got the April 15 deadline coming up. We also have this issue of rebate for some Americans based on their income. Please don't get suckered into losing money."

In one scam, a person receives an e-mail that appears to be from the Internal Revenue Service. The return address is listed as either info@irs.gov or taxes@ref.irs.org. The letter tells the respondent they are eligible to receive a tax refund of various amounts. The e- mail then provides a link to forms that allegedly need to be filled out in order to receive a tax refund. Those forms ask for personal identification information.

"What the IRS is telling people to do is not click on any link claiming to be the IRS agency," Giani said.

The e-mails also have a new twist to the old scam. This time, the e-mail includes paragraphs apparently geared toward tax-exempt organizations that hand out funds to other groups and individuals. That e-mail contains the name and alleged signature of the director of the IRS' Exempt Organization business division.

In another scam, people claiming to be IRS agents call homes and tell residents their rebate check will be coming shortly. They then ask the residents for their bank account information, allegedly so they can make a direct deposit. If the caller refuses to give up personal information, the caller tries to pressure them by saying they will not get a rebate check.

Information about the scams and how not to fall victim can be found at phishing@irs.gov.

E-mail: preavy@desnews.com