The Internal Revenue Service is warning lake area residents to be on the lookout for a new email phishing scam.  The emails appear to be from the IRS Taxpayer Advocate Service and include a bogus number.  The fake emails may also include a message stating that a person’s 2013 income is flagged for review due to a document processing error and has been forwarded to the taxpayer advocate service for resolution assistance.  The IRS says the taxpayer advocate service is a legitimate IRS organization but does not initiate contact with taxpayers by email or any other social media.

Legislation has been passed by the Missouri House of Representatives that attempts to crack down on commercial websites that post police mug shots of people and then demand money to have them removed.  The house unanimously passed the bill that would require websites to delete photos for free within 30 days of a request.  Those who don’t could be charged with a misdemeanor.  Supporters of the measure say many people whose booking photos are posted are not charged with crimes, but must pay to have the pictures removed.  The bill would not apply to certain organizations such as news media.

Legislation has been endorsed by the Missouri Senate that would require local elections authorities to phase out the use of some electronic voting machines.  Under the proposed legislation, voters could only use electronic machines that produce a paper trail of marked votes.  The other types of electronic machines could still be used but could not be replaced once they malfunction or break down.  The legislation also declares that the paper ballot is the official ballot for state elections.  The bill received first round approval yesterday and needs one more vote in the senate before going to the house.