Question: I read they raided that fake IRS scam ring in India, but is it really over? Are there fake emails going around? Is anyone else calling about this?
Answer: Your call is the first we have received this week on the topic of Internal Revenue Service impersonation scams. Reports of IRS scam attempts tapered off after dozens of people were arrested last month at call centers in India linked to a large-scale scheme to rip off American taxpayers by scaring them into paying money they didn’t really owe.
However, the federal tax collection agency warns that many smaller schemes are ongoing, and it issued an urgent alert last week about an email scheme aimed at tax professionals. If you are in that line of work, you might have been targeted.
The IRS warned tax professionals who use IRS e-services to beware of an email asking them to update their accounts, purportedly for a security upgrade.
The subject line for the fraudulent email is “Security Awareness for Tax Professionals.” The “From” line is “Your e-Services Team.” It has both an IRS logo and an e-services logo that hyperlinks to a URL verified as a phishing site. The spoofing site poses as an e-services registration page, according to the IRS.
Anyone who received the suspicious email should send it as an attachment to Phishing@irs.gov and then delete it. Do not click on any links within the email.
The scammers are trying to steal e-services user names and passwords or additional personal data. Any recipient who clicked on the fake logo and provided their user name and password should contact the IRS e-services help desk to reset their accounts.
If the same password is used for other accounts, those also should be changed. As an additional precaution, “users should perform a deep security scan on their computers, re-evaluate their security controls and be alert to any other signs of identity theft or data compromise,” according to the alert.
The agency reminded tax preparers that they should always go directly to IRS.gov to access e-services and never click on any links provided in emails.
This insidious scam exploits the fact that the IRS is upgrading e-services security and has been communicating with tax professionals about updating their accounts. But again, legitimate updates are done only through the official IRS website.
Q: How do we report a pothole?
A: Call the city’s Pothole Hotline at 768-7777 and leave a detailed voice message that includes the location of the pothole, by street address or intersection. Speak slowly and clearly. Or you can fill out a report online at 808ne.ws/pothole8.
Q: I need information about programs for seniors and am feeling overwhelmed by all the information I am finding online. I don’t even know whether it really applies in Hawaii. This is on behalf of my mom. Can you recommend any resources?
A: You might want to start with the Executive Office on Aging, Hawaii’s lead agency in a coordinated system of aging and caregiver support services.
Its website, health.hawaii.gov/eoa, has information about Medicare, adult day care, transportation assistance, support for family caregivers and many other vital resources. It also includes contact information to help people access services in their own areas, via county offices on aging; in Honolulu the senior helpline is 768-7705.
If you prefer, you can also contact the EOA by phone (586-0100) or email (eoa@doh.hawaii.gov).
Auwe
Auwe to any eligible voter who failed to do so. — A citizen
Write to “Kokua Line” at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 7 Waterfront Plaza, Suite 210, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Honolulu 96813; call 529-4773; fax 529-4750; or email kokualine@staradvertiser.com.
