First off, the IRS does not solicit tax payments through email.

Recently our firm has received information from clients requesting if an email from the IRS is spam.  Due to the amount of questions I’ve had on this subject, it seems like there is a major spam push in this regard.

These emails said to be from IRS agencies are not new, however this year they seem to be more abundant. One of the newer scams have been directed at  business owners.  These emails are allegedly from the Electronic Federal Tax Payment System (EFTPS).  The email is supposedly a notification letting you know that your tax payment has been rejected and needs to be re-submitted.  Please be aware that the IRS does not solicit tax payments via email.

When you click the links in the scam emails, malware/viruses are loaded onto your computer.  The malware sends information stored on your computer back to the scammer, putting you at risk.

What do you need to know to keep safe?  The IRS will never request financial information, passwords, PINs or any other sensitive information from you via email.  The IRS sends paper notices to taxpayers to discuss tax account information.  Never provide your bank information to someone via email or click links that are suspicious!

If you ever receive one of these scam emails, do not reply.  Do not open any attachments since they might contain malicious code that could infect your computer.  Also, do not click any links provided in the email.  These websites could also give your computer a virus or malware.  Instead, forward the email to phishing@irs.gov.