Division News

UWPD Warns of E-Mail Scam

Scams on the internet (and via e-mail) come in many forms. Some are quite elaborate with genuine looking return addresses, official looking stationary, and the like. They all have one thing in common- they are intended to rip you off. The old adage "if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is" applies to unsolicitated e-mails. The following is an example of a scam e-mail message that arrived in my Inbox a few weeks ago-

Good News,
After the last annual calculation of your fiscal activity we have determined that you are eligible to receive a tax refund of $93.82.

Please submit the tax refund request and allow us 2-4 days in order to process it.

A refund can be delayed for a variety of reason. For exemple (invalid records or applying after the deadline). The good news is that IRS will make this refund directly to your visa and/or mastercard linked to your checking/savings account instead a check or a direct deposit.

To access the form for your tax refund, please continue to our secure form "Tax Refund V-M (linked removed)
Important: Do not use credit and/or american express or discover cards.

Only cards that are linked to your checking/savings account are accepted.

Regards,

Stephen Bronner
Internal Revenue Service - Tax Refund Specialist

Similar scams have been used on the internet for quite some time. They often sound too good to be true, and usually are. The Federal Bureau of Investigations National White Collar Crime Center has long had an internet site for reporting such scams. Go to- http://www.ic3.gov/

Follow the directions on that site to report such activity. If you have unknowingly become a victim of such activity, report this to UWPD, or your local police agency, and to your bank or affected credit card immediately. Do not click on links provided in these e-mails as they may launch viruses.

For a more detailed article about these scams, please refer to an article I wrote several years ago- http://www.k-state.edu/infotech/news/archive/2002/08-20emailscam.html

Regards,

Troy Lane- Chief of Police, UWPD