The Rev. Joseph Napolitano said he always has a full schedule during March and April."The holiest time of the year is always a busy time, but it's an exciting time and a beautiful time of year, one I really enjoy," he said.What he doesn't enjoy, he said, is being the target of a scam.
Napolitano received a message from what he though was the Internal Revenue Service, promising an additional refund.The e-mail was a fake, the latest in a fast-growing scam called phishing.Thieves copy the letterhead of legitimate financial institutions and then send out fake e-mails that say they require recipients to provide personal information such as a bank account or social security number.But Napolitano said he didn't bite. Instead, he contacted the IRS directly.Dan Friedman, a financial planner, said, “Your bank, the IRS, any legitimate institution you're doing business with is not going to send you an e-mail asking for information."Friedman said he sees these types of scams all the time.He warns his clients never to respond, no matter how real they look.Napolitano said he hopes no one else falls for this scam and said those responsible for sending the e-mail should consider confession.Additional Resources:
