There is an e-mail being sent out from scam artists that replicates a letter that could be sent by the IRS.  The IRS, however, DOES NOT initiate taxpayer communications through e-mail.   

This e-mail contains an attachment that can potentially damage or completely crash your computer.  The link referenced in the copied e-mail below has been removed for your protection.  DO NOT open any attachments that come with an e-mail sent from someone posing as a representative of the IRS. 

Again, the IRS does not initiate correspondence through e-mail.  Another key indication that this is not from the IRS is the sender’s e-mail address.  All government websites and e-mail addresses end in .gov, never in .org.  The IRS will never ask that personal information such as PIN numbers or passwords be sent to them via e-mail.   

From: Internal Revenue Service [mailto:notice@irs.org]
Sent: XXX
To: XXX
Subject: Notice of Deficiency #76-11279-108620-290 

Department of the Treasury  Date of this Notice: XX

Internal Revenue Service    Letter Number 531(DO)

District Director           Form: 1040

             -NOTICE OF DEFICIENCY-

 Dear XXX,

      We have determined that you owe additional tax and other amounts, or both, for the tax year(s) identified above.  This letter is your NOTICE  OF DEFICIENCY, as required by law.  The enclosed statement shows how we  figured the deficiency.

      If you want to contest this determination in court before making any payment, you have 90 days from the date of this letter (150 days if addressed outside the United States) to file a petition with the United States Tax Court for a redetermination of the deficiency.

Original email has line here stating: "Please click here to download a Copy of the Order, Letter, Notice and Other Document Being Appealed."

      If you decide not to sign and return the waiver, and you do not file a petition with the Tax Court within the time limit, the law requires us to assess and bill you for the deficiency after 90 days from the date of this letter (150 days if this letter is addressed to you outside the United States).

Thank you for your cooperation.

                      Sincerely yours,

                      Charles O. Rossotti

                      Commissioner by

                      Roger K. Burgess  CR

                      District Director

                                  Letter 531(DO)

                                  (Rev.9-96)

The IRS suggests that you forward such emails to phishing@irs.gov and provides instructions on how to do this safely:  FROM THE IRS WEBSITE  http://www.irs.gov/privacy/article/0,,id=179820,00.html"

If you receive an unsolicited e-mail communication claiming to be from the IRS, please forward the original message to: phishing@irs.gov using the instructions provided below.  You may not receive an individual response to your e-mail because of the volume of reports we receive each day.

How to forward a phishing e-mail

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 the IRS.

In MS OutlookYou 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:

1. Create a new message
2. 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)
3. Address the message to phishing@irs.gov and send it

1. Open the phishing e-mail message*
2. Select View > Options. The Internet headers will appear. You can copy these as you normally copy text
3. Forward the original message to phishing@irs.gov, with the copied message headers pasted into this message"