The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently warned of a new scam aimed at international taxpayers. Criminals use a fake IRS Form W-8BEN to get detailed personal identification and bank account information from victims.
Here’s how the scam works:
Criminals mail or fax a letter indicating that although individuals are exempt from withholding and reporting income tax, they need to authenticate their information by filling out a phony version of Form W-8BEN.
Recipients are requested to fax the information back.
Then the criminals have access to victims' personal and bank account information.
What is Form W-8BEN and when is it really used?
The Form W-8BEN is a legitimate U.S. tax-related form that is often used to claim exemption from tax withholding by foreign individuals, such as when there are tax treaties between the U.S. and an international student's home country.
The Form W-8BEN is generally provided by foreign individuals to withholding agents (like UW) or banks. It is not a form given directly to the IRS.
In the past, criminals have targeted nonresidents in the U.S. using the form to steal personal details such as passport numbers and PIN codes.
The legitimate IRS Form W-8BEN does not ask for any of that information.
The IRS will not contact taxpayers directly to request a Form W-8BEN; this process is generally done by withholding agents and financial institutions.
The phony letter or fax also refers to a Form W9095, which does not exist.
