IRS warns of e-mail scam seeking personal information

The Internal Revenue Service is warning the public about an identity theft e-mail scam.

The e-mail has a cover letter from a person identifying herself as IRS public relations employee Laura Stevens, who instructs recipients to fill out the attached W-4100B2 form.

The attached form W-4100B2 does not exist but is similar to the IRS' W8-BEN form. The form requests such information as the person's birth date, Social Security number, mailing address, bank account number and signature.

"The IRS has received inquiries about these types of forms before, and they have turned out to be identity theft scams," said Michael Devine, a spokesman with the IRS office in Missouri. "The W8-BEN scams had a vogue a few years ago. It seems to be enjoying a resurgence."

Devine said the genuine form is sent to financial institutions, not the IRS, by customers who are nonresident aliens with income subject to U.S. income tax. The financial institutions act as a nonresident alien's withholding agent.

Devine said the IRS never sends unsolicited e-mails about personal, bank and tax information. No one, he said, should reply to e-mails from someone claiming to be an IRS employee or directing the recipient to the IRS site, nor should anyone open any attachments of those e-mails.

Suspicious e-mails should be forwarded to phishing@irs.gov, then deleted, he said.

Lt. Jerry Bledsoe of the Scott County Sheriff's Department said people should contact police before sending any information or money.

"Many times people will get these letters saying they've won hundreds of dollars," Bledsoe said. "If it sounds too good to be true, it usually is.

"People should give us a call and we'll let them know if the organization is legitimate," he said.

Bledsoe said never give personal information over the phone.

"Don't assume the people on the other line are really from that organization," Bledsoe said. "Hang up the phone, look up the organization in the phonebook and call that number to see if they're legitimate."

If people believe they are victims of identity theft, Bledsoe recommends they report it to law enforcement, banks and credit card companies immediately.

Sgt. Barry Hovis with the Cape Girardeau Police Department said 38 cases of identity theft in the city have been reported so far this year. Twenty-four cases were reported in 2007.

"The decrease could be because people are becoming more educated on identity theft and understand they need to report it immediately," Hovis said. "Or it could be that we're actually seeing a rise in identity theft cases. It's just hard to tell."

To prevent identity theft, Hovis said consumers should examine their credit report once a year.

Hovis also advised people to limit the confidential information carried in a purse or wallet.

"A Social Security card and birth certificate especially need to be secure," Hovis said. "Those two things are what thieves commonly use to steal a person's identity."

bblackwell@semissourian.com

388-3628

scottcountymo.com/sheriff/sheriff_identitytheft.html

www.irs.gov/privacy/article/0,,id=179820,00.html

www.semissourian.com/article/20080922/BUSINESS/709229966&SearchID=73337957689665