Many people fall victim to the IRS scam emails because they click through to the site linked in the email. There, they find a site that appears for all intensive purposes to be the one published by the IRS. Make no mistake – this means nothing. Anyone can copy and republish a site. Yes, even the site of the IRS. It is pretty scary when you think about it. Best Buy, in fact, had major problems with this for some time.
So, where are these scammers? It should come as no surprise that few in the boundaries of the United States would have the nerve to try this. Instead, the IRS has tracked most of the scamming emails to other countries, but not necessarily the usual suspects. The countries include England, Italy, Japan, Germany, Australia and Singapore. Usual suspects include China, Aruba, Mexico, Indonesia and Argentina. Surprisingly, only a few have originated from the scam mecca of Nigeria.
The best way to beat scammers is to know the facts. The IRS does not communicate in any way with taxpayers by email. If you get an email purportedly from the IRS, it is a fake. If you have a nagging doubt, call the agency to find out if anything is up. Otherwise, delete that email!