The Internal Revenue Service today warned the public of a widespread email phishing scheme that scammers are using to steal sensitive employee information and commit financial crimes, including filing fraudulent tax returns. The scam typically involves a fraudster sending a spoof email to a payroll or human resources employee that appears to come from the organization’s CEO requesting a list of employees and their W-2 tax forms. Scammers may also follow up with additional “executive” requests to wire money to a specific account, the IRS said.
The IRS noted that this year, scammers are targeting a broader cross-section of organizations, including school districts, tribal casinos, chain restaurants and other corporate and nonprofit entities.