Warning: Fake IRS Email Scam

Last week FBI, Better Business Bureau and California prosecutors issued warnings concerning potential disaster related fraud schemes in connection with the Southern California wildfires. Many of these schemes are Internet-based scams representing themselves to be disaster relief charities.

In a new development to that story of phising, IRS issued a warning about a new scam e-mail that appears to be a solicitation from the IRS and the U.S. government for charitable contributions to victims of the recent Southern California wildfires.

In some cases in an effort to appear legitimate, the bogus e-mails include text from an actual speech about the wildfires by a member of the California Assembly. A link in the e-mail sends the e-mail recipient to a Web site that looks like the IRS Web site, but isn't. They are then directed to click on a link that opens a donation form that asks for personal and financial information.

The IRS categorically said that it does not ever send e-mails to taxpayers soliciting contributions to a charitable cause. Recipients of the scam e-mails can help IRS in thwarting this scheme by forwarding any such e-mails to phishing@irs.gov.