Scammers are sending fake tax forms to taxpayers via email

Don’t be fooled: it’s not just Social Security Administration (SSA) scams making the rounds. Tax scam emails are flying fast and furious as well. I’ve gotten a few, including the following…

The relevant text reads:

Attention,

Our records indicate that you are a Non-Resident Alien and sometime in the past submitted a form W-8BEN for your Tax exemption status and withholding, your form may have exceeded its succeeding calendar year and therefore has expired.

As a result you are to complete the attached revised W-8BEN form and send back to us as soon as possible.

Attach a copy of your identification (passports, driver’s license etc) when returning your filled form. 

This is an identity theft scam email. In the scam, criminals use a fake form W-8BEN, Certificate of Foreign Status of Beneficial Owner for United States Tax Withholding and Reporting (form downloads as a PDF) to gain personal and bank identification from taxpayers. Some versions of this scam have been circulating for more than ten years (downloads as a PDF). The IRS issued several warnings about the fraud over the years, including in 2017 and again in 2018. I guess for the scammers, old habits die hard.

 

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