| 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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