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As tax season approaches, so do online phishing attacks spoofing the IRS. A few things to look out for in your email:
- Offers of a refund on taxes, or money
- Requests for personal information, including credit card/financial info
- Odd URLs (ending in other than .gov; .org; .com).
- A subject line pretending to offer you money: “IRS REFUND Notification – Please Read This”
DO NOT:
- Respond to an email from the IRS (They will not email you)
- Click on suspicious links; if you really think it might be a legitimate email, type the address yourself (Do not click “reply” or copy, cut and paste)–or make use of a search engine to find the real IRS email address. Even a seemingly safe URL can be compromised through “masking”
- Respond with personal or credit card/financial info
- Open any attachment from someone you do not know
DO:
- Take time to read all subject lines carefully
- Add a security software suite to your PC to protect you from Internet threats
- Keep your security suite updated
Tips courtesy of CyberDefender: a security utilities company that provides consumer-friendly anti-malware (anti-spyware and antivirus protection) and anti-phishing software including Early Detection Center.
