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NEWS RELEASE

April 2, 2008

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Ulman Warns Residents of Bogus IRS E-mail

ELLICOTT CITY, MD – Howard County Executive Ken Ulman warns Howard County residents to be alert for bogus e-mails advising them that they are due tax refunds from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). This e-mail was recently sent to a number of county employees: the e-mail told the recipients that their ability to claim their refunds (of several hundred dollars) would expire in a few days. To obtain their refunds, recipients were instructed to call the number listed in the e-mail (602-427-5984) and provide the IRS Tax Refund Department with the “tax refund number” listed.

“This e-mail is just the latest of a number of ‘phishing’ schemes that have been reported to our Office of Consumer Affairs and other consumer offices around the county,” said Executive Ulman.

“Phishing” involves the sending of e-mails that appear to come from government agencies or well-known companies that are, in reality, from con-artists attempting to obtain private financial information from the recipient. Under the guise of verifying account information, raising credit limits or issuing refunds, these e-mails ask the recipient to click on an internet link or, as in this case, call a telephone number listed in the e-mail. When consumers do so, they are asked for various pieces of financial information that can then be used by the con-artist to withdraw money from the consumer’s bank or credit accounts.

In Howard County, recipients who called the Arizona telephone number listed in the e-mail were told they had reached the Internal Revenue Service and then asked to enter their social security number, credit card number, expiration and PIN. Once a con-artist has this kind of information, they are able to raid your bank account and steal every dollar in it.

“These e-mails are very deceptive,” said Rebecca Bowman, the County’s new Consumer Affairs Administrator. “They often look very authentic, copying the seals, logos or letterhead of the agency or company so that consumers will be fooled into thinking they are legitimate. In this case, the e-mails appear to come from a valid e-mail address and are well-timed to coincide with the deadline for filing federal and state tax returns.”

The IRS does not initiate taxpayer communications through e-mail and does not request detailed personal information or ask taxpayers for PIN numbers, passwords or similar secret access information for their credit card, bank or other financial accounts. The IRS requests that taxpayers who receive such e-mails forward them to the agency at phishing@irs.gov. Taxpayers who wish to obtain other tax information can go to www.IRS.gov the only web site sponsored by the Internal Revenue Service.

“While this is the only IRS-related scam that our Office of Consumer Affairs has been advised of so far, this may be just the beginning,” warned Ulman. “During tax season, consumers should be wary of e-mails that urge them to update their tax software or offer quicker ways to obtain refunds. We also expect other scams related to the federal government’s economic stimulus payments as we get closer to May when the initial payments are scheduled to be distributed.”