I got an email this morning claiming to be from the IRS regarding the 2008 Economic Stimulus Refund. It claimed that, “The fastest and easiest way to receive your refund is by direct deposit to your checking/savings account.” The email then provides a link to a Web site where I could—if I were so foolish—enter relevent information to receive my refund.
I know you ladies are too smart to fall for this obvious phishing scam but it seemed like good time to mention it anyway. There are a lot of clues that reveal this particular email as a scam, from the url full of numbers that look nothing like the IRS.gov’s actual domain to the fact that it is asking me to follow a link and enter sensitive personal information, in this case my bank account information. That last one is a HUGE red flag and no legitimate businesses should be doing this. (In fact, if your bank does this, you should call them and rip them a new one.)
If you are curious about the 2008 Economic Stimulus Refund—even if you are made curious by a phishing scam—the solution is simple. Open a Web browser, type in www.irs.gov and look it up. In fact, the IRS has a warning about this particular scam on its site.