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MCC Daily Tribune

Beware of Fake IRS Scam Targeting College Students and Staff

The Internal Revenue Service is warning of an ongoing IRS-impersonation scam that appears to primarily target educational institutions, including students and staff who have “.edu” email addresses.

The IRS has received complaints about the impersonation scam in recent weeks from people with email addresses ending in “.edu.” The phishing emails appear to target university and college students from both public and private, profit and non-profit institutions.

The IRS does not contact taxpayers via text or email.  Do not click or provide any personal information if you receive an electronic communication appearing to come from the IRS.

Taxpayers who believe they have a pending refund can easily check on its status at “Where’s My Refund?” on IRS.gov. 

Details about the scam and recommended actions:

The suspect emails display the IRS logo and use various subject lines such as “Tax Refund Payment” or “Recalculation of your tax refund payment.” It asks people to click a link and submit a form to claim their refund.

The phishing website requests taxpayers provide their:

  • Social Security Number
  • First Name
  • Last Name
  • Date of Birth
  • Prior Year Annual Gross Income (AGI)
  • Driver's License Number
  • Current Address
  • City
  • State/U.S. Territory
  • ZIP Code/Postal Code
  • Electronic Filing PIN

People who receive this scam email should not click on the link in the email, but they can report it to the IRS. For security reasons, save the email using “save as” and then send that attachment or forward the email as an attachment to phishing@ irs.gov. The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) and IRS Criminal Investigation have been notified.

Taxpayers who believe they may have provided identity thieves with this information should consider immediately obtaining an IRS Identity Protection PIN. This is a voluntary opt-in program. An IP PIN is a six-digit number that helps prevent identity thieves from filing fraudulent tax returns in the victim’s name. The link is on the Taxpayer Guide to Identity Theft page at IRS.gov.

Taxpayers who attempt to e-file their tax return and find it rejected because a return with their SSN already has been filed should file a Form 14039, Identity Theft Affidavit, to report themselves as a possible identity theft victim. See the link for Identity Theft Central at IRS.gov to learn about the signs of identity theft and actions to take. 

Eileen Wirley
Technology Services - AVP Office
04/01/2021