Scam alert: That's not the IRS
Published: Tue, Oct. 02, 2007 12:00AM
Modified Tue, Oct. 02, 2007 03:24AM
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closeIf you've been getting unsolicited e-mail from the Internal Revenue Service, ignore it: You've been the target of another Internet scam.
The bogus e-mail claims that you are owed a refund and sends you to a Web site at which you are asked to provide your Social Security number and credit card information.
Just remember this: The IRS doesn't send out unsolicited e-mail messages.
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Mark Hanson, IRS spokesman for the Carolinas, said the scam has the potential to confuse people, because it's modeled on a refund program that the agency conducts each year, the undeliverable refund list.
The best way to avoid becoming an identity-theft victim is to press "delete," Hanson said.
"Don't let the idea of free money bait you into the scam," he said.
Hanson said the legitimate IRS undeliverable refund list will be posted on the agency's Web page this month. "If you need to check on a refund," he said, "start with www.IRS.gov."
vicki.parker@newsobserver.com or (919) 829-4898
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