Lies, Damn Lies, and E-mail Phishing Scams

Gmail's spam filters are very good (erring a bit on the side of junking things that aren't spam), so it's an event when something gets through. The following e-mail, supposedly from the IRS, was in my inbox this morning, and obviously a scam. This is not a new scam (as you can see from a quick Google search), but frustrating to see around tax time, when people may let their guard down for "good news" from the IRS.

from IRS Internal Revenue Service reply-to taxrefund@856.irs.gov, to undisclosed-recipients, date Tue, Apr 22, 2008 at 5:45 AM subject Tax Notification

hide details 5:45 AM (5 hours ago)

Reply

Internal Revenue Service (IRS)
United States Department of the Treasury

Dear Taxpayer,

After the last annual calculations of your fiscal
activity we have determined that you are eligible
to receive a tax refund of $184.80.

Please submit the tax refund request and allow us
6-9 days in order to process it.

A refund can be delayed for a variety of reasons.
For example submitting invalid records or applying
after the deadline.

To access the form for your tax refund, use the following personalized link:

http://0x7C.0x3.0x3A.0x85/www.irs.gov/taxrefund.php

Regards,
Internal Revenue Service


Document Reference: (0x7C.0x3.0x3A.0x85).