Scam of the Week: Watch out for W2 and Tax Fraud Phishing

The bad guys are starting their tax scams early this season! All employees should look out for urgent emails and phone calls supposedly coming from the IRS or tax-related companies in the next few months.For all employees, if you receive a phone call from the IRS claiming you owe back taxes and must pay, don’t fall for it. This is a common scam that they try every year.And HR and Accounting teams should be on even higher alert. Cyber attackers are now combining two scams-in-one. First, they ask you to send them the W-2 forms of all employees, with the email looking like it comes from the CEO or a C-level executive. Next, they follow up with an urgent request to transfer a large sum of money to a bank account controlled by these cyber criminals.Remember that when you receive sudden requests like this, they may be spoofed emails. You should double check by picking up the phone to verify that this is a legitimate request coming from that executive. In these cases, it's OK to “say NO to the CEO".This tax season, stay alert for scams like this, and Think Before You Click!Stop, Look, and Think. Don't be fooled.