Beware of e-Mail Scams about Electronic Federal Tax Payments

Beware of e-Mail Scams about Electronic Federal Tax Payments

If you received an email from the IRS with a subject line of “Rejected Federal Tax payment”, delete it.  This message is a phishing scam.   The e-mail states that tax payments made by you through EFTPS (Electronic Federal Tax Payment System) has been rejected. The e-mail then directs you to a bogus link for a transaction report that, when clicked, downloads malicious software (malware) that infects the intended victim’s computer. The malware is designed to send back to the scammer personal and financial information already contained on the taxpayer’s computer or obtained through capturing keystrokes. The scammer uses this personal and financial information to commit identity theft.  Go to http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=229075,00.html  for more information.