The International Office has been alerted of a new scam targeting taxpayers regarding a fraudulent CP2000 notice which requests payment to the IRS. Please review the two documents below to see the differences between a legitimate CP2000 and the fake CP2000:
The fake CP2000 is noted with various errors and a few other indicators of the fake payment notice are as follows:
- All notices appear to be issued from an Austin, TX address
- The underreported issue is related to the Affordable Care Act (ACA) requesting information regarding 2014 coverage
- The payment voucher lists the letter number as 105C.
- There is no CP2000 information available on the IRS Account Management Services system.
What to do:
If you receive a Notice CP2000 and you are unsure of its legitimacy, please feel free to contact me at taxadvisor@austin.utexas.edu to review the notice. Alternatively, you can contact the IRS directly to see if the notice is legitimate at two separate numbers:
1-800-829-1040 – IRS General Helpline open from 7 am to 7 pm.
(267) 941-1000 – IRS Helpline for International Taxpayers open from 5 am to 10 pm
It is recommended that you contact the 2nd phone number as the wait times tend to be shorter. It is best to call earlier in the morning to avoid long wait times when contacting either number.
Additional recommendations:
- Spread the word to your friends! The more that people are aware of this scam, the less effective it will become.
- Login to your UT Direct account to make sure that your home address and contact information are set to private so that they will not be displayed publicly on the UT website. You may also restrict your information online through UT Direct or by going in-person to the Office of the Registrar in the Main Building.
- Remember, if what the caller is telling you sounds strange, inaccurate, or makes you feel uncomfortable, then something is not right and you should hang up.
If you have any questions or concerns, please let us know.
Additional Resources:
IRS Article About Tax Scams: https://www.irs.gov/uac/Newsroom/Phone-Scams-Continue-to-be-a-Serious-Threat,-Remain-on-IRS-Dirty-Dozen-List-of-Tax-Scams-for-the-2016-Filing-Season and https://www.irs.gov/uac/tax-scams-consumer-alerts
USCIS Article with Common Scams: https://www.uscis.gov/avoid-scams/common-scams
Treasury Department Page on Reporting IRS Scams: https://www.treasury.gov/tigta/contact_report_scam.shtml
Federal Trade Commission Scam Reporting Website: https://www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov