IRS Email Scams Check
Enter a suspicious email address and find out who is behind.
These days, anyone could be a victim of email tax fraud. As the IRS is constantly sending out warnings that IRS-related email scams are on the rise, we can’t be too vigilant about it.
If you’ve received suspicious IRS-related emails and are concerned, this post might be helpful for you to give you the info you need and bring you some peace of mind.
In this post
About IRS Email Scams
IRS email scams are typically carried out by scammers who make use of the IRS name or logo to forge fake emails. In most cases, these fraud IRS emails are intended to trick people into providing personal information or clicking their links.
If you give out personal information to these scammers, you may be subject to identity theft. Or if you carelessly click on the links that contain malware in the phishing emails, the scammers might be able to take full control of your devices and steal your personal data.
The following are the most common warning signs of suspect emails:
- Display the IRS logo and use subject lines like “Tax Refund Payment” or “Recalculation of your tax refund payment.”
- Use a threatening tone in the email.
- Include links in the email that lurk recipients to click.
- Claim to be an IRS agent and threaten to suspend your accounts if you don’t comply with their instructions.
- Request your sensitive information in the email. The IRS will never send emails demanding personal and financial info, as well as account numbers and passwords.
To avoid being duped by a phishing email, in addition to knowing the above warning signs, reversing the emails may also be helpful in keeping scammers at bay. Read on to find out how.
How to figure out who’s behind the fake IRS emails
An email address search is probably the most efficient way to find out who is attempting to con you. By doing so, you might be able to get the senders’ information and be clear that the emails are not from the IRS.
Method 1 – Run a reverse email search with BeenVerified
BeenVerified is one of the most trustworthy email lookup tools on the market. With hundreds of databases, BeenVerified is able to find potential name and identity matches within moments. It can help to provide a private and legit search for you to spot scammers, protecting you from potential email scams.
1. Go to the BeenVerified email search website. Type in an email address and click Search Now.
2. Sit tight as BeenVerified scours it powerful database. After that, you may obtain a report including the email sender’s name, contact info, addresses, age, criminal records, social media accounts, and more when available.
Method 2 – Reveal the email sender via PeopleLooker
PeopleLooker is also a reliable email reverse service for determining the identity of an email sender. With just an email address you enter, PeopleLooker can look at publicly available data sources to find info about the email owner. Info may include their real name, aliases, age, social media profiles and even criminal records.
- Visit the PeopleLooker’s email lookup page.
- Enter a suspicious email address and click Search.
- Then PeopleLooker will scan its database and present you with the correct match within minutes. From the report, you’ll find out who’s the fake IRS email owner and a lot more details.
Method 3 – Look up emails through Social Catfish
Social Catfish started off as a dating profile checker. But with years of development, it is now an all-around people search engine that offers professional email lookup services. When it’s needed, Social Catfish can cross reference their database to pull all the info related to an email scammer for you.
- Head to the email address search of Social Catfish.
- Type an email address into the search box and click Search.
- Wait for a while as Social Catfish finds matching results for you. Once finished, you will receive a comprehensive report about the scam email owner you searched for.
How to report IRS email scams
As we’ve mentioned above, don’t respond and don’t click any link or attachment are the two most crucial rules when we receive unexplained IRS emails.
Besides, it’s also important to report these emails in order to help the IRS disrupt the scams and protect others. To report the scam emails to official institutions:
- Submit them as an attachment to phishing@irs.gov. Instructions can be found by clicking here.
- You can also report the emails to Treasury Inspector General and Federal Trade Commission for additional reporting.
Conclusion
The tricks of email scammers can be endless. We need to always be on our guard whenever we find an email claiming to be from the IRS or any other official entity. If you are unsure, try to protect yourself with an email address search to check if the email address is from a certain person. And, if the email is questionable, don’t forget to report it so that others can be protected as well.
Hopefully, you will find this post helpful. Thanks for reading!
*Featured image by macrovector on Freepik