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“The e-mail states that tax payments made by the e-mail recipient through EFTPS have been rejected,” said Gregg Semanick of the IRS New Jersey office.
EFTPS is a tax payment system that allows individuals and businesses to pay federal taxes online or by phone. However: “The IRS and the Financial Management Service, the Treasury bureau that owns EFTPS, never communicates payment information through e-mail,” Semanick said.
If you open the attachment, or click a link in the email, a “malware” code invades your hard drive, finds passwords and other sensitive information, and relays it to the phishers.
“To avoid the bogus website and malware, do not click on any links, open any attachments or reply to the sender for any e-mail you may receive that claims to come from EFTPS,” Semanick warned.
However, it doesn’t conduct its business through email.
If you get an IRS-related e-mail that you suspect is a phishing attempt or directs you to an imitation IRS web site, please forward it to the IRS at: phishing@irs.gov.
You can also visit IRS.gov and enter the keyword phishing for additional information.
For the latest local IRS information and tax tips, go to: @GreggIRS/TWITTER
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