It doesn't fool me because I've learned the IRS is the nicest creditor on the planet. The real letter from the IRS leadw with something like "If you file your taxes you can claim $X,XXX that we've withheld"; unlike a bank, the IRS sees you as a stock rather than a bond because the more you succeed the more they can get out of you so they don't want to ruin you.

I wonder how much right-wingers holding up a caricature of a scary evil government contributes to people thinking that the IRS or FBI might want to get paid $X,XXX in 7-11 or iTunes gift cards. My experience is that those kind of agencies like getting certified checks.

Hence the old saying (and W. C. Fields movie title): You can't cheat an honest man.