Fraudulent IRS Letter Circulating Belize

February 8, 2009

The Embassy of the United States of America in Belmopan has received multiple reports that a fraudulent Internal Revenue Service (IRS) letter has been mailed or faxed to a number of people in Belize.  The author states the letter is from the IRS and requests personal identification information from the addressee.

An IRS representative has confirmed one particular letter is not an official letter from the IRS. The forms referenced in the letter, Forms W-8BEN and W9095, are not filed with the IRS. Please see the IRS website under phishing and e-mail scams for further information on what to do if you suspect you have received a fraudulent fax or e-mail requesting identifying information.