More IRS Phishing
By Allan Holmes | Thursday, August 23, 2007 | 01:38 PM
By Allan Holmes | Thursday, August 23, 2007 | 01:38 PM
Federal agencies increasingly have been the subject of phish scams this summer, and there seems to be no end to it. Below is an email I received late last night in my Outlook inbox. The email successfully eluded the spam filter.
The IRS confirms that the email is a fraud, making it part of the 161 phishing scams that the IRS has identified this year, an IRS spokeswoman says. The IRS has received 14,000 emails from individuals who have forwarded on suspicious looking emails to phishing@irs.gov, a mailbox the IRS set up last year for individuals to send emails that look like they may be scams.
IRS has issued a number of warnings in the past 18 months warning individuals about fraudulent emails coming form the IRS.
Phishers are also using the Justice Department and Federal Trade Commission to launch attacks designed to trick individuals to give up personal information or to download malware. The agencies report that emails look quite sophisticated. However, this email doesn't look professional enough to come from the IRS, although I would hazard to guess that many individuals would be fooled by the official IRS logo and the screened copyright statement at the bottom.
But I'm not too convinced that the IRS would use phrases such as "the last annual calculations of your fiscal activity," and the pedestrian Courier font gives the email more than a hint of illegitimacy.
Again, sadly, it must be working.
Comments
Hello, Where can I forward emails that I get that I know are fakes,from the IRS? Thank You,
Kendra
The give away is that it takes 6 to 9 days to process it, what govt. are they talking about!
Bob | Tuesday, August 28, 2007 | 11:35 AMThe first clue should have been to expect a response in "6-9 days". What one of us in the government can get anything through the process in 6-9 days?
Rita | Tuesday, August 28, 2007 | 09:27 AMBruce:
You are right. Millions of people, hoping to get what seems like easy money, will overlook what some of us see as obvious signs of fraud only because they may not know what to look for. It's a matter of familiarity, not insight. Continuous education and frequent warnings from federal agencies to be on the lookout for these scams are the primary means to fight phishing.
Thank you for your comment.
Allan Holmes | Tuesday, August 28, 2007 | 09:24 AMUnfortunately, many american adults are still being dupped by phishing scams - either because of fear or being enticed into believing they can get something for nothing (if it sounds too good to be true...).
Javelin Strategy and Research reported in their 2006 ID Theft Study that 73 Million adult email users reported more than 50 phishing emails during 2006 with 11 million of the recipients clicking on the links and 2.42 million reporting the loss of money because of phishing attacks ($929 million).
You may know about "pedestrian courier font" but many do not - we all need to help the Federal Trade Commission educate as many as possible on the threats of identity theft
Regards, Internal Revenue Service...
What professional organization signs that?
What happens if you reply to a phisher with made up info, fake name and numbers, etc. ? Would the replier be in trouble for wire fraud ?
Richard | Friday, August 24, 2007 | 08:54 AMPerhaps you didn't know that "pedestrian courier font" is the default on government email since html is automatically turned off in our email. It is the tone and content that are give-aways, not the mechanics.
D. Winchell | Friday, August 24, 2007 | 08:20 AMABOUT THIS BLOG
Allan Holmes on what's happening and what's being discussed in the world of federal information technology.
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