U.S. citizens have only a month left to fill in their taxes, and this means that this is a prime time for email scammers.
Con men of all shapes and sizes are here to harass taxpayers, so we listed a couple of schemes and how to avoid them.
The "Urgent" CEO Email
If you work in a medium to large organization, especially in payroll or HR departments, you may receive an apparently legit email from your Chief Executive Officer. The subject is usually reinforced with an "urgent" note, and the sender asks you to forward the "W-2 information" of all employees.
"W-2 information" encompasses sensitive personal information, such as the Social Security numbers of employees, their paycheck values and other personal data.
It is easy to understand why identity thieves would regard such a PDF document as a small treasure, as they can use it to file fraudulent tax refund requests with the IRS.
Multiple sources showed that the scheme was used in hundreds of enterprises, impacting the personal information of tens of thousands of workers.
How It Looks Like
Should you receive any of the following texts in an email (or a variation of them), beware:
"I want you to send me the list of W-2 copy of employees' wage and tax statements for 2015. I need them in PDF file type, you can send it as an attachment. Kindly prepare the lists and email them to me ASAP."
"Can you send me the updated list of employees with full details (Name, Social Security Number, Date of Birth, Home Address, Salary)?"
"Kindly send me the individual 2015 W-2 (PDF) and earnings summary of all W-2 of our company staff for a quick review."
The Countermeasure
All payroll and HR employees should keep an eye out for these kinds of emails and swiftly inform all staff of the risks. In case of a legitimate request on W-2 forms, always double-check its validity with your superior. If you ask us, it is a bit suspicious that the leader of a firm would need W-2 information on every employee, but mistakes happen.
A variation of the CEO email scam is receiving an email from your payroll service, in which you are asked about your Social Security number. Never offer it by email to anyone, as legitimate as the request may sound.
The IRS phone call
Another commonly used strategy for identity theft schemers is to pose as an IRS official calling you about your tax filing.
How It Occurs
Most times, crooks will threaten a taxpayer with arrest unless a payment is made.
"No one wants to get into trouble with the IRS, and that's what the scam artists are counting on," notes North Dakota Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem.
The Countermeasure
Simply hang up.
The IRS has a policy of allowing taxpayers to question or appeal on the sums that they must submit. What is more, the IRS always sends a letter notifying citizens of their tax situation and will never ask for sensitive information via phone, regardless if we are talking about credit or debit card numbers. It comes without saying that IRS officials do not use threats that involve the local police, or other state or federal authority.
Police kindly reminds taxpayers to abstain from providing any personal information to callers, even if they appear to be members of the same family. Voice impersonators are actually good enough to fool most of us.
