The IRS issued an official warning to consumers to watch out for fake IRS sites. The only official IRS website is IRS.gov. Any sites ending with .com, .net, or any other common extension are not official IRS sites.

Also, the IRS.gov site does have interactive features, but it asks for very little personal information. From IRS.gov:

Although the IRS Web site offers interactive features, the tax or private financial information that these features ask the taxpayer for is extremely limited. The IRS reminds consumers who access unfamiliar sites, or sites they have never dealt with before, that they should never reveal any personal or financial information, such as credit, bank account or PIN numbers, without verifying the validity of the site.

The IRS also reminds consumers to be alert to an on-going Internet scam in which consumers receive an e-mail informing them of a federal tax refund. The e-mail, which claims to be from the IRS, directs the consumer to a link — often a Web site resembling the IRS Web site — that requests personal and financial information, such as Social Security number and credit card information.

Remember: IRS.gov! Don’t follow links in emails. —MEGHANN MARCO

IRS Urges Caution about Internet Sites that Resemble the Official IRS Site [IRS.gov]

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