Would-be Count of Monte Cristo’s beware, the IRS has won approval from a federal court to get Paypal to turn over records about people who may be dodging the taxman by stashing dough in foreign lands.

Amanda Pires, a PayPal spokeswoman, said Tuesday that the company had just received the summons. “We’re still evaluating our options,” she said. “The privacy of our customers’ information is something we take really seriously.”

“PayPal is another one of the mechanisms by which money stashed overseas might be spent,” Eileen J. O’Connor, assistant attorney general for the Justice Department tax division, said.

There go ours plan to hide our dollars in those friendly Nigerian 419ers tax shelters…

“I.R.S. Asks PayPal for Taxpayer Data” [NYT via Lifehacker]

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