A recent report from IBM X-Force has highlighted the massive growth in tax-related email spam this year. Between December 2016 and February 2017, tax-related email spam increased by an incredible 6,000%.
A rise in tax-related email spam is to be expected during tax season. It is the time of year when tax returns are submitted and criminals can make substantial profits. If tax information is stolen and a fraudulent tax return is submitted prior to the individual submitting their own return, thousands of dollars in refunds can be obtained. With such high returns from each set of tax information, it is no surprise that tax-related scams are so prevalent.
This year, has seen many different scams detected, although one of the most successful is the W-2 phishing scam. The scam involves a tax fraudster impersonating the CEO, CFO or another executive, and emailing a request for W-2 Forms to members of the payroll department.
As we have seen on numerous occasions this year, the emailed lists can contain thousands of employees’ sensitive information. Usually, every employee that has taxable earnings for the previous fiscal year. To date, there have been 141 reports of successful scams. The largest breach was reported by American Senior Communities. The tax information of more than 17,000 members of staff were emailed to scammers.
The IRS said it was one of the most dangerous email phishing scams seen in recent years. It’s too early to tell how much in fraudulent refunds have been paid out by the IRS, although last year the total was around $5.8 billion. This year that total is expected to rise.
W-2 form phishing scams may be the most common type of tax-related email scams seen this year, but there are many. Most are delivered by email, although website phishing attacks have also been highly prevalent.
Cybercriminals have been impersonating tax software companies and have been sending out fake marketing emails encouraging consumers to visit spoofed websites. They are then relieved of their personal information. Information gathered via the online forms enable fraudsters to steal identities and file fraudulent tax returns in the victims’ names.
Tax season is also a time when malware infections spike. Tax-related email spam is sent with malicious email attachments. Opening those attachments results in malware or ransomware being downloaded to the victims’ computers.
Cybercriminals use a wide variety of techniques to steal credentials. Social engineering techniques are used to fool email recipients into believing requests for information are genuine. Attackers use typosquating and URL hijacking to make their malicious websites appear legitimate. The phishing templates used by some cybercriminals are so convincing it is almost impossible to distinguish them from genuine emails. The correct branding is used, links are masked, and support is even offered for uploading tax-related documentation. In many cases, the emails contain the IRS logo and victims are fooled into supplying their credentials. The scams are often successful, even though the IRS does not initiate contact with taxpayers via email.
To protect against attacks and fraud, consumers can set an IRS IP PIN on their accounts. That pin number must be used to file a tax return. Provided the PIN is not disclosed, individuals will be protected from fraudulent tax filings.
Many Americans leave filing their tax returns to the last minute; however, this year the scammers started sending tax-related email spam early. The late filing of tax returns gives cybercriminals plenty of time to submit fake returns. Tax returns should be filed as soon as a W-2 Form is received to reduce the risk of becoming a victim of fraud.
Businesses can protect themselves against W-2 phishing scams by implementing an advanced spam filtering solution to block spam emails. However, staff should also receive anti-phishing training and policies should be implemented that require any request for W-2 Forms to be verified with the sender of the email by telephone.
Businesses are still being targeted by scammers so they should be on their guard. They should also ensure that they are prepared well in advance for the tsunami of tax-related email spam that will start to arrive from December 2017.