Client receives email from efile.com

[S T]

Okay this is a new one for me, I know about the IRS phone scams, I know about the IRS email phishing scams,

My client emails me stating that they received an email from "efile.com" - which seems to be an IRS provider site, under the spouse name and filed her taxes using that site and my client's email address. Client contacted efile.com, and was advised that both phone numbers for the filer are disconnected and that the amount of the refund was "large"

Sounds like a ramdom ID theft on IRS this early in the year - It is on the spouse - but now I am suspecting - this client will have a "huge" problem in efiling their tax return. Guess we won't know for several months - as these clients are always on extension.

What to do in the meantime, I am thinking about filing in POA for both H/W - and then do we contact someone at IRS to say - client has an email, etc

Not been involved in this before and want to "stop" now in Jan/Feb not in April or October

Thanks for any insight to assist this client!

Sandy

[Koss]

efile.com

Sandy, the facts you are presenting here are not clear...

Your client chose to file the spouse's return on this website after receiving an e-mail message from the site?

Why are the contacting you, if they chose a do-it-yourself website?

A couple facts that may help move this conversation forward:

(1) efile.com is a legitimate website.
(2) The taxpayer in question may have received a bogus, phishing type e-mail, that was impersonating the website. The e-mail may have contained a link to a fraudulent version of the website that was designed to collect the taxpayer's data for purposes of identity theft.
(3) efile.com is a legitimate website, but it is not an "IRS provider." They may well be part of the "Free File Alliance," so they might be an "IRS partner," but that's no different than hrblock.com, or turbotax.com, or taxact.com. All of these sites are legitimate, and they all offer online e-filing.

I am not saying that your client is not a victim of fraud or identity theft. They may well be. But what you wrote is not clear:

My client emails me stating that they received an email from "efile.com" - which seems to be an IRS provider site, under the spouse name and filed her taxes using that site

I'm not trying to make this difficult, but this is a compound sentence that seems to mean that

Your client received an e-mail from efile.com, and
Your client filed her taxes using that site

Did your client file a return online?

BMK

[S T]

Sorry if I was not clear in OP ! No, No, No - my Taxpayer Client and Spouse filed nothing on efile.com. I know efile.com appears to be legitimate site to file on line - I checked it out online "states Authorized IRS e-file Provider"

My Taxpayer and Spouse Client received an email stating the following --- and forwarded to me - My Client has filed "nothing" for 2014!

Taxpayer Client Forward email to Sandy"""""I'm a little concerned about some emails I received from efile.com. Someone by the name of Audrey H filed her taxes using that site and my email address. I contacted efile.com and they said that both phone numbers for the filer are disconnected and that the amount of the refund was large. Do you think I need to do anything with this? I am going to contact yahoo about this but I thought I should check with you in case you've heard of anything like this.""""" End of email forward from Taxpayer Client

Long time Clients of mine, so rightfully so that they reached out to me to "query" the email received.

Any suggestions or what the Taxpayer Client should be advised to do or how to proceed? I am thinking a ID theft and it will pose issues for the Client later this year??

Thinking, of filing in the POA on their account to monitor if e-services is still available during the year, other suggestions?

Thanks

Sandy

[Koss]

ID Theft

Was your client able to confirm, by talking to efile.com, that a tax return was filed using her social security number?

If so, then you have a clear case of ID theft, and your client should file an ID theft affidavit. They will need to file a paper return.

If this is not what happened, then it is not ID theft. It may be something else. Maybe the crook hacked your client's email account, and simply used that email address to file a return using some other victim's SSN.

That would actually make it look like your client stole someone's identity

Maybe your client will be a suspect in an ID theft case (LMAO)

BMK