Smart Military Money
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The IRS exposed a phishing scam targeting .mil addresses.
The IRS recently warned the public of a phishing scheme targeting military and government employees. For those who aren’t familiar, phishing is the sending of emails claiming to be from legitimate companies in order to convince people to reveal personal information leading to identity theft.
Some individuals have been receiving an email from a .mil address, claiming to be Defence Finance and Accounting Services. The email goes on to say that those who receive money from the VA may be eligible for similar funds from the IRS. The letter also asks you to send VA and IRS documents filled with personal information to an address in Florida.
Sending this information can put the individual’s accounts and credit in jeopardy. Thankfully, someone reported the phishing scheme to the IRS, leading to this announcement.
This scam targeting military personnel really drives home the importance of knowing the signs of phishing and what you can do about it. Some common signs of phishing are:
Phishing techniques have begun to leak into text message scamming. Be sure to apply the same caution responding to/deleting text message spam.
Remember that phishing scams aren’t always from strange, unrecognizable addresses. The use of a .mil address and familiar agencies was the reason this scam was so clever and successful.
Knowing the signs of phishing and never sending any personally identifiable information over email or the phone is a key part of keeping your identity safe.
If you receive an email you suspect is fraudulent, don’t hesitate to forward a copy to phishing@irs.gov.
Photos courtesy of Jhaymesisviphotography & ivanpw
One Comment
Recently, I got a payloan that was due on the 13th and on the 11th I got a phone call claiming that the police were coming to my home to arrest me for not paying the loan. They had a copy of the contract. The were very agressive. Tlod me to go to Walmart to wire the money to then. Well it was snowing and I am elderly. So I told them that it would take a couple of hrs to go out and sweep the snow. 2Hrs later they called and insisted I go wire the money. They gave me a number to call.
I had a copy of the contract because I printed it out. I found in very small grey letters the phone number of the company that loaned me the money. To see if I could pay on my credit card. I was told that the loan was do in 2 more day. That they do collection in office. They told me whom ever called were scammers and not to wire any money.
I can imagine what might have happened if I hadn’t contacted to company. I would have wire money to the scammers and I would have been out $400. Because I would have to have paid the loan company as well.