| December 14, 2007
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Treasury Warns Public About E-Mail Scams
Washington, DC –Treasury has become aware of phony
e-mail messages claiming to come from Department
officials. For example, these messages, which are
unsolicited by the recipients, falsely assert that
Treasury is seeking to transfer funds to the recipient
of the e-mail or accuse the recipient of tax avoidance
or money laundering. These e-mails may request sensitive
information from the recipient, supposedly in order to
process the bogus transaction.
These messages are a hoax designed to trick victims into
revealing confidential information. Treasury recommends
that recipients not respond to such messages.
Treasury does not send unsolicited requests and does not
seek personal or financial information from members of
the public by e-mail. Anyone who receives an email of
this nature should file a complaint at
www.ic3.gov.
E-mail users should be wary of any unsolicited messages
that purport to come from U.S. Government agencies
asking them to provide sensitive personal information.
The transmission of phony e-mail messages requesting
confidential information is a practice known as
"phishing." The perpetrator of a "phishing" scam
attempts to trick the victim into revealing confidential
information, which then is used for purposes of identity
theft or other crimes.
Members of the public can learn more about protecting
themselves from "phishing" and other internet-based
threats at
OnGuardOnline.gov, a web site created by the
Department of Justice in partnership with other federal
agencies and the technology industry to help stay safe
online.
Anyone receiving a solicitation purporting to be from,
or otherwise involving the Internal Revenue Service, may
report it to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax
Administration at:
Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration
Hotline
P.O. Box 589 Ben Franklin Station
Washington, DC 20044-0589
Email: Complaints@tigta.treas.gov
Phone: 1-800-366-4484
Fax: 202-927-7018
Solicitations purporting to be from, or otherwise
involving the Department or the Secretary of the
Treasury, may be reported it to the Treasury Office of
Inspector General at:
Treasury Hotline
Office of Inspector General
1500 Pennsylvania Ave., NW
Washington, D.C. 20220
Email: Hotline@oig.treas.gov
Phone: 1-800-359-3898
Fax: 202-927-5799
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