IRS Alerts Payroll and HR Professionals to Phishing Scheme Involving W-2s

WASHINGTON   The Internal Revenue Service today issued an alert to payroll and human resources professionals to beware of an emerging phishing email scheme that purports to be from company executives and requests personal information on employees.

 The IRS has learned this scheme   part of the surge in phishing emails seen this year   already has claimed several victims as payroll and human resources offices mistakenly email payroll data including Forms

W-2 that contain Social Security numbers and other personally identifiable information to cybercriminals posing as company executives.

  This is a new twist on an old scheme using the cover of the tax season and W-2 filings to try tricking people into sharing personal data. Now the criminals are focusing their schemes on company payroll departments,  said IRS Commissioner John Koskinen.  If your CEO appears to be emailing you for a list of company employees, check it out before you respond. Everyone has a responsibility to remain diligent about confirming the identity of people requesting personal information about employees.

IRS Criminal Investigation already is reviewing several cases in which people have been tricked into sharing SSNs with what turned out to be cybercriminals. Criminals using personal information stolen elsewhere seek to monetize data, including by filing fraudulent tax returns for refunds.

This phishing variation is known as a  spoofing  email. It will contain, for example, the actual name of the company chief executive officer. In this variation, the  CEO  sends an email to a company payroll office employee and requests a list of employees and information including SSNs.

The following are some of the details contained in the e-mails:

               Kindly send me the individual 2015 W-2 (PDF) and earnings summary of

all W-2 of our company staff for a quick review.

               Can you send me the updated list of employees with full details

(Name, Social Security Number, Date of Birth, Home Address, Salary).

               I want you to send me the list of W-2 copy of employees wage and tax

statement 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.

 

The IRS recently renewed a wider consumer alert for e-mail schemes after seeing an approximate 400 percent surge in phishing and malware incidents so far this tax season and other reports of scams targeting others in a wider tax community.

 The emails are designed to trick taxpayers into thinking these are official communications from the IRS or others in the tax industry, including tax software companies. The phishing schemes can ask taxpayers about a wide range of topics. E-mails can seek information related to refunds, filing status, confirming personal information, ordering transcripts and verifying PIN information.

 Go here for more information.....

https://www.irs.gov/uac/Newsroom/IRS-Alerts-Payroll-and-HR-Professionals-to-Phishing-Scheme-Involving-W2s

 

FYI  this is a repost that  i believe is interest to readers of my blog.