IRS warns Mainers to beware of new phishing scam

AUGUSTA — Mainers should be on the lookout for a new e-mail phishing scam now circulating that targets Department of Defense military members, retirees and civilian employees.

According to IRS spokeswoman, Peggy Riley, the e-mail appears to come from Defense Finance and Accounting Services and displays a .mil e-mail address. The message states that that those receiving disability compensation from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) may be able to obtain additional funds from the IRS.

E-mail recipients are then asked to send various VA and IRS documents containing their personal and financial information, such as copies of VA award letters and their income tax returns, to an address in Florida.

“The information on these documents is then used by the scammers to commit identity theft. Typically, identity thieves use someone’s personal data to empty the victim’s financial accounts, run up charges on the victim’s existing credit cards or apply for new loans, credit cards, services or benefits in the victim’s name,” Riley said.

The IRS does not send unsolicited e-mail to taxpayers and never asks for personal and financial information such as PIN numbers, passwords or similar secret information for financial accounts.

More information on tax-related phishing scams is available on IRS.gov, keyword “phishing.”