It’s that time of year again. OK. For many of you- those easily fooled- it’s always that time of year.
I received the attached letter today.
A poor fake of what the IRS would send. And, you need to recognize that fact, as well.
We can start with the simplest reason. The IRS will NEVER send you a letter that is mass-mailed. (Oh, sure, I know the IRS sends out thousands of correspondence each and every day. But, they never send one to “applicant”. It is always individually addressed.)
As if that weren’t a clear indication, given what you know about the IRS and its backlog, how the heck do you think the IRS would respond to a letter we wrote (which by the way, we didn’t) on the 22nd of April [which would mean it barely even reached the IRS offices) by the 25th of April.
Then, of course, there’s this form the letter claims we submitted- a “Tax Refund Application”. The closest thing to such a (bogus) document is Form 1045, Application for Tentative Refund How likely do you think it would be that the IRS wouldn’t know what forms exist?
And, to compare- notice how this real notice differs?
It has the IRS return address, a block stamp which correlates to the actual notice, the type of notice (CP24), and the tax year in question.
Please don’t fall prey to fake IRS letters. That’s the easiest way to become subject to identity theft.
Good tips!
Also, we have never received just a page or two from the IRS. There usually is a bunch of other pages with generic information. The trees are crying…
Yes, sometimes when they have a lot of alterations to your tax submissions, they provide a tome!
Stay safe, Dominique.
Hi, Roy.
You make interesting posts. Although it’s not possible for me to receive a fake IRS letter, it resembles the fake letters from different organizations or institutions asking me to click on a link, log in through a link, etc.
Your warning is apt!
Glad you pay attention and stay safe, Bing!
This fake letter had a number of warning signs applicable to many scams. I’m spreading the word.
Thanks for spreading the word, Alana.
Thanks for the reminder! There are so many people that fall for mailings, phone calls or text messages.
We must remain eternally vigilant, Martha.
while we have not received one of these yet, it is good to know about this and be aware..and glad you are back!
Glad to ehar you didn’t get one of these fake notices, Vidya!