People and companies have been receiving emails, purporting to be from the IRS, stating that their EFTPS Electronic Federal Tax Payment System – or EFTPS – payments have been rejected.
Color me shocked, but phishing artists have come up with another way to scam people out of their money. Some of the emails tell the recipient that the "company code" was entered incorrectly. Others mention that the IRS couldn’t process the payment because the taxpayer made it on a holiday. Despite periodic allegations of neanderthalism from irate taxpayers, the IRS is surprisingly competent at receiving your money, even when you make the payment on a holiday or weekend.
So, what do you do if you receive one of these emails?
Originally posted at D. J. Marcus's Law Blog
First of all, know that the IRS never sends correspondence regarding account information by email. Not even to tax professionals. They remind me, regularly, that even faxes and cordless phones may be unsecure. If something goes wrong with your account and the IRS needs to contact you, they will send you a letter.
Your first reaction should be to notify the IRS by forwarding the email to phishing@irs.gov. You'll receive an automated response email from them, but you won't be notified of any outcome.
If you feel the need to check your account, do not click the link in the email. Open your browser and type in www.eftps.gov (or click your bookmark if you have one). Log in and navigate to your account. Whenever you're on the EFTPS website, you should see the following banner:
Remember! EFTPS values your privacy and security and will never attempt to contact you via e-mail. If you ever receive an e-mail that claims to be from EFTPS or from a sender you do not recognize that mentions a payment made through EFTPS, forward the e-mail to phishing@irs.gov or call the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration at 1.800.366.4484.
Here's an example email from entrepreneur.com:
Notification: Your Federal Tax Payment has been rejected. The problem is that system doesn't process your company ID on holidays and we movied [sic] your tax payment batch to awaiting [sic] list. Status of your Tax Payment is Under Review.
To get more details about your company status and tax payment batch file, go to http://eftps.gov/
Also forward information to your accountant adviser.
WARNING!
You are using an Official United States Government System, which may be used only for authorized purposes. Unauthorized modification of any information stored on this system may result in criminal prosecution. The Government may monitor and audit the usage of this system, and all persons are hereby notified that the use of this system constitutes consent to such monitoring and auditing. Unauthorized attempts to upload information and/or change information on this web site are strictly prohibited and are subject to prosecution under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act of 1986 and Title 18 U.S.C. Sec. 1001 and 1030.
Keep your Employer/Taxpayer Identification Numbers and bank account info safe!
(My apologies to any neanderthals I may have offended by comparing them to the IRS.)