IRS Alerts Public to New Identity Theft Scams

The scammers continue to abound, and the IRS warns people to beware of identity theft scams, including these three: (1) fraudsters ask recipients to register their account information with a fake web address to obtain a tax refund or a refund of the Making Work Pay Credit; (2) recipients receive an email claiming to come from the Treasury Department stating that they will receive millions of dollars in recovered funds, lottery winnings, or cash if they provide certain information; or (3) fraudsters modify a genuine Form W-8BEN (Certificate of Foreign Status of Beneficial Owner for U.S. Tax Withholding) to request personal and financial information. The IRS reminds taxpayers that it does not discuss tax account matters by email, and the only genuine web site is www.irs.gov.