Fraudsters Send 'IRS Emails' Indistinguishable from Real: What You Need to Know

Fraudsters posing as the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) use seemingly secure emails to threaten victims. This scam is gaining momentum, writes Fox Business.

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Swindlers are perfecting their criminal art. Fraud involving fake “IRS emails” has been around for years—the problem is that these emails are becoming more legitimate-looking every year, according to research from Abnormal Security, an email security company. The news was first reported by cybersecurity news site Bleeping Computer.

This time around, the IRS fake email targeting Microsoft Office 365 users has already sent emails to an estimated 70 inboxes, according to a blog posting the study.

The fake letter claims that it was sent to collect payments, and failure to pay could lead to legal charges.

The letter can be quite convincing: it looks like it was sent from the domain irs.gov, which, according to representatives of Abnormal Security, is "a reliable imitation of the IRS."

“And the spoofed irs.gov sender domain (usually [email protected]), and the specific identifiers assigned to the recipient give a false sense of legitimacy to the email. Additionally, the email conveys a sense of authority due to its tone and professional language,” Abnormal said.

On the subject: The Devil's Dozen: IRS Recommendations for Protection Against 12 Tax Fraud Schemes

Combined with urgency—a key component of most scams—this can cause victims to act rashly and give scammers money to “avoid arrest.” The attacker claims that he has contacted this person before and that the situation has escalated.

“This is intended to provoke immediate action,” Abnormal Security said.

The email also contains unique account and loan numbers, document and order IDs.

“By using seemingly specific information, the attacker enhances the aura of legitimacy and increases the likelihood of interaction with the victim,” the report says.

Both the language and grammar, while not perfect, are more convincing than usual. Less effective emails are full of language and grammatical errors. However, as with all scams, there is a way to recognize a fake.

Upon closer inspection, you can determine that the email header actually contains the sender domain “shoesbagsall.com.”

"Also, the reply box is a clear sign that something is wrong, since it redirects replies to [email protected] instead of an IRS Help Desk mailing address,” reports Bleeping Computer.

But not everyone can see these signs and be able to find them.

On the subject: How to stop spam calls and protect yourself from scammers: 8 ways

Here are the most important things to keep in mind to protect yourself: The IRS doesn't work like that!

“The IRS will never initiate contact with taxpayers via email regarding a tax bill, refund, or bailout payment,” the IRS warning states.

“Do not click on links that claim to be from the IRS. Beware of emails and websites—they may be scams designed to steal personal information,” the IRS said.

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