The Internal Revenue Service is warning Americans about fake emails containing fraudulent tax bills related to the Affordable Care Act.
The agency said it has received many reports nationwide of scammers sending bogus CP2000 notices for the 2015 tax year via email. The fake notice claims that the taxpayer underreported their income related to Obamacare coverage in 2014.
The fake CP2000 notice is attached to the email. The email requests a check to be made out to the “I.R.S.” and mailed to address in Austin, Texas. The email also offers a payment link, and the payment voucher lists the letter number as “105C.”
Real CP2000 notices are mailed to taxpayers using the U.S. postal system. They are never sent as part of an email, the IRS said. The agency never initiates contact with taxpayers by email or through social media.
Related: Why the IRS May Delay Your Tax Refund Next Year
If you receive a suspicious email, forward it to phishing@irs.gov and then delete it from your email account. Don’t respond to the email, click on a link in the email or open an attachment. If you receive a CP2000 notice in the mail, you can check the IRS website to make sure it’s real.
The IRS sends out a CP2000 when income reported from a third-party source such as an employer doesn’t match the income reported on a taxpayer’s return. The notice provides instructions on what taxpayers should do if they agree or disagree with the additional tax they owe. Checks to resolve the unpaid tax should be made out to the United States Treasury.
