Beware of a New Fraud Risk!

There is a fraud risk related to the Electronic Federal Tax Payment System (EFTPS) that you need to be aware of.

Always remember that the IRS does not initiate taxpayer contact by e-mail. Therefore, if you receive an e-mail that appears to be from a tax agency telling you that your federal electronic funds transfer (EFT) payment did not go through, it is part of a phishing scheme and you should not respond to it. The perpetrators of this scheme have duplicated the IRS's EFTPS logo and other characteristics of that system in an attempt to convince taxpayers that it is an official e-mail from the IRS. It is not!

If you receive a message claiming to be from the IRS or EFTPS, take the following steps:

1. Do not reply to the sender, access links on the site, or submit any information to them.

2. Forward the message as-is immediately to IRS at phishing@irs.gov.

3. Visit the IRS website to find out how to report and identify phishing, e-mail scams and bogus IRS websites.

4. If you receive a suspicious e-mail or discover a website posing as the IRS, please forward the e-mail or URL information to the IRS at phishing@irs.gov.

5. EFTPS is a tax payment system provided free by the U.S. Department of Treasury.

Whenever you receive a communication from the IRS, it is generally good practice to contact our office before responding.