Is that really an email from the EFPTS? Don’t get caught buy a phishing attempt

So, you may be asking yourself: why is the EFTPS contacting me? And who the heck is EFTPS?

It’s likely a phishing atempt.

The EFPTS is a service offered free by the U.S. Department of the Treasury to help business and individual taxpayers conveniently pay all their federal taxes electronically (as noted on their website). This time of year, people receiving an email from the EFPTS may be concerned as they may make Federal tax payments on line in the States

But, as noted on their home page the EFTPS, this is someone trying to get your bank information and other personal identifying information, also known as “PII”. This from their home page at https://www.eftps.gov/:

Remember! EFTPS values your privacy and security and will never attempt to contact you via e-mail. If you ever receive an e-mail that claims to be from EFTPS or from a sender you do not recognize that mentions a payment made through EFTPS, forward the e-mail to phishing@irs.gov or call the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration at 1.800.366.4484.

After reporting a phishing attempt, you will receive an email from the IRS confirming your submission:

Please note that the IRS does not contact individuals by email.
Therefore, if you received an email claiming to be from the IRS it is a phishing attempt and should be reported to us.

Additional information on IRS phishing can be viewed here:
http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=155682,00.html

Additional information on avoiding phishing scams can be viewed here:
http://www.antiphishing.org/consumer_recs.html

So, if you receive a mail from someone at the EFPTS, it’s likely not genuine. You may forard the mail (as an attachment is best) to the EFPTS as noted above.

For more info to avoid getting caught in a phishing scheme, see my post “Did you win £450,000 in a “Microsoft Lottery”? Think again: it’s a phishing attempt“.

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