It is important that the original communication you received is included, as well as Internet headers. The following instructions will assist you in forwarding a phishing communication to us.
In MS Outlook
You can forward a message without double clicking to open it in a new window. Highlight the e-mail in the message list of your inbox and follow the directions for your particular mail client:
- Create a new message
- Drag and drop the phishing e-mail into the body of the new message. This ensures the original message is contained as an attachment with the appropriate Internet headers.
- Address the message to phishing@irs.gov and send it
Or
- Open the phishing e-mail message*
- Select View > Options. The Internet headers will appear. You can copy these as you normally copy text
- Forward the original message to phishing@irs.gov, with the copied message headers pasted into this message
In Outlook Express
You can forward a message without double clicking to open it in a new window. Highlight the e-mail in the message list of your inbox and follow the directions for your particular mail client:
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Create a new message
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Drag and drop the phishing e-mail into the body of the new message. This ensures the original message is contained as an attachment with the appropriate Internet headers)
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Or
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Open the phishing e-mail message*
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Select File > Properties > Details. The Internet headers will appear. You can copy these as you normally copy text
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Forward the original message to phishing@irs.gov, with the copied message headers pasted into this message
In Mulberry
You can forward a message without double clicking to open it in a new window. Highlight the e-mail in the message list of your inbox and follow the directions for your particular mail client:
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Select Message > Forward
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Select the option Include Headers in quote. Click the Forward button.
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In Netscape/Mozilla/Thunderbird Mail
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Select View > Headers > All
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Select Message > Forward As > Inline
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If you are using an alternative to these e-mail clients, please consult your provider for instructions on how to forward messages with Internet headers.
If the methods above do not work, at a minimum, please send the underlying link of the phishing Web site.
If the suspicious e-mail includes a file attachment, it is safer to simply highlight the message and forward it. Some configurations, especially in Windows environments, may allow the execution of arbitrary code upon opening and viewing a malicious e-mail message.
The IRS can use the information, URLs and links in the suspicious e-mails you forward to trace the hosting Web site and alert authorities to help shut down the fraudulent sites.
Main phishing resource page:
How to Report and Identify Phishing, E-mail Scams and Bogus IRS Web sites
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