Local residents are being warned about an identity theft scam using e-mails and faxes that falsely claim to be from the Internal Revenue Service.

According to the Hawai'i Society of Certified Public Accountants, the letter and a reproduction of the IRS form W-8BEN are being sent electronically to taxpayers requesting personal information in order to "protect your exemption from paying tax on your account and other financial benefits held in USA and to update our records."

Kathy Castillo of the HSCPA said the scam was discovered about four days ago when a local CPA reported that his client had received the false forms and nearly responded.

"Luckily she checked it out with her CPA before sending her tax information to them," said Castillo. Recipients are asked to fill out the fake tax form and fax it to a 440 area code phone number.

But Castillo said most people would not think to be suspicious of correspondence stamped with an IRS logo and will respond without hesitation. "This taxpayer was on the verge of doing that," Castillo said.

The letter sent from the scammers contained multiple grammatical errors and the W-8BEN form also appeared to be altered, said Castillo.

Local CPA Carlton Siu said people should be aware that the IRS does not correspond through e-mail or fax. "Check it out with a CPA, tax preparer or call a bank for advice" before sending out personal information, said Siu.

IRS officials are investigating. According to the IRS, the scam targets non-resident aliens who have income from a United States source. The scheme spread through the Caribbean last year and apparently has surfaced in Hawai'i.

The practice is called "phishing" for personal information that can be used to steal someone's identity, according to the IRS.

Reach Loren Moreno at lmoreno@honoluluadvertiser.com.