Skyward phishing scam

We just received this from Skyward. Please be aware.

It has come to our attention through one of our customers that there is a phishing scam that appears to be coming from Skyward.  Skyward would not send you a link and ask that you log into it.  The email address this came from is skywardhelp@cyberservices.com [mailto:skywardhelp@cyberservices.com]. This is not a valid email address for Skyward.  Please instruct your users to ignore any type of request like this.

We appreciate your prompt attention to this matter.  If you have any questions, please contact Skyward Customer Service.

Thank You - Skyward Support Staff
SN #1474

How to give all your money to thieves

There is a phishing scam going on again this year, as in previous years, that poses as an IRS notification to steal your money and/or identity.

It looks like this:

>>> "Internal Revenue Service" 1/7/2009 11:14 AM >>>
After the last annual calculations of your fiscal activity we
have determined that you are eligible to receive a tax refund of $92.50.
Please submit the tax refund request and allow us 3-6 days in order to process it.
A refund can be delayed for a variety of reasons. For example submitting invalid
records or applying after the deadline.

To access the form for your tax refund, please click here :

http://.ca/date/Internal/Revenue/Service/index.html

Regards,
Internal Revenue Service.

© Copyright 2009, Internal Revenue Service U.S.A.

Of course, this is a scam. You can tell because:

1. The URL of the link isn't to the IRS site;
2. The IRS knows where you live, and would just send you a check;
3. The bad grammar of the message;
4. They don't need you to fill out another form, because you (presumably) already filled out your tax forms (otherwise, how would they know you are owed a refund?);
   
5. The IRS has a warning about this kind of fraud;
6. The IRS doesn't communicate via email unless you've asked them to;
   

Don't be fooled. Use those critical thinking skills. (BTW, the URL of the link has been changed above so that it won't actually go there.)

*You may ask, "How did this spam get through our district spam filter?" Easy. It's not spam. Spam is unsolicited email trying to sell you something. This is a phishing scam, which is much harder to identify because it looks legitimate, and isn't selling anything.