IRS scam comes with a nasty virus

A scam is taking advantage of people who do their taxes online.

The Better Business Bureau said an email is popping up stating 'your federal tax bank transfer failed."  This is a scam!  If you click on the attachment, your computer could get a nasty virus.

Local tax attorney Paul Tom said this type of email scam is becoming too common.

"I receive typically 10 or 12 of those around the 15th of every month when your tax deposit or employee withholding is due," Tom said.

There are ways to avoid these scams.

"The best answer I can give you is that the IRS never emails people to tell them that their payment failed," Tom said.

If you're still worried, you can also look at the email address of the sender. TOM said IRS emails always come from a specific address.

"They read Joe.Smith@IRS.GOV," Tom said.

The IRS is aware of these emails and need your help.  If you find this scam email in your inbox, the BBB said to forward the message to phishing@irs.gov.

Unfortunately, if you have already clicked on the attachment, on the scam email, there is little you can do to solve the problem.  The BBB recommends you run a virus scan on your computer as soon as possible.

There are laws to punish these scam artists, but good luck finding them.  Tom said a majority of these scam artists live out of the country.