NEW YORK, NY - The IRS is warning military members, military retirees and civilian employees of a new scam making the rounds.
It involves an e-mail that appears to come from the Defense Department Finance and Accounting Services and displays a .mil e-mail address. The message says that those receiving disability compensation from the Veterans Administration may be able to get additional funds from the IRS.
The recipient is then asked to send various documents containing personal and financial information, such as copies of tax returns, to a Florida address.
"The information on these documents is then used by the scammers to commit identity theft," said IRS spokeswoman Dianne Besunder. "Typically, identity thieves use someone's personal data to empty the victim's financial accounts, run up charges on the victim's existing credit cards or apply for new loans, credit cards, services or benefits in the victim's name."
Besunder says the IRS doesn't send unsolicited emails and never asks for personal or financial information such as PIN numbers or passwords.