IRS warns of fake web site; ID theft threat

Don’t be fooled by a realistic-looking, but phoney Internal Revenue Service website. It’s a phishing scam.

The scammers have set up a fake IRS website, supposedly offering tax preparation products.

“What these scammers are attempting to do is to steal taxpayer’s financial information, their personal information and use it for identity theft,” said David Tucker, spokesman for the Internal Revenue Service in Seattle.

Tucker says people should look at the web address carefully before navigating an IRS. website. “What we want people to look for is that it’s an IRS.gov website. If it does not have ‘gov’ at the end, then it is not an official IRS website.”

The IRS wants taxpayers to report scams by sending unsolicited e-mails to them.