Our New York City accounting firm is dedicated to updating taypayers on current cybersecurity threats including tax season scams.Please review the information below and keep it in mind to help prevent being a victim of identity theft or other cybersecurity crimes.
Tax season is prime time for cybersecurity thieves targeting taxpayers to try to steal their sensitive personal and financial information. looking to Phishing (as in “fishing for information”) is a scam where fraudsters send e-mail messages to trick unsuspecting victims into revealing personal and financial information that can be used to steal the victims’ identity.
The IRS website advises that the organization has issued several alerts about the fraudulent use of the IRS name or logo by scammers trying to gain access to consumers’ financial information to steal their identity and assets.
Scam emails are designed to trick taxpayers into thinking these are official communications from the IRS or others in the tax industry. These phishing schemes may seek information related to refunds, filing status, confirming personal information, ordering transcripts and verifying PIN information.
Our nyc cpa urges taxpayers to be alert to bogus emails that appear to come from tax professionals, requesting information for an IRS form. There are variations of this scam that are being disseminated via text messages. The IRS is aware of email phishing scams that include links to bogus web sites intended to mirror the official IRS web site. These emails contain the direction “you are to update your IRS e-file immediately.” These emails are not from the IRS.
In addition, these scams may direct taxpayers to websites asking for information that is used to file false tax returns or they may carry malware, which can infect computers and allow criminals to access your files or track your keystrokes to gain information.
If you have any questions in regard to any communications you may receive from the IRS or in relation to your tax information. Please contact our New York City accounting firm.