The Inland Revenue Service has issued a new warning to tax professionals about a new IRS e-Services phishing scam.
With the tax return deadline fast approaching it is the last chance for the fraudsters to steal identities and file fraudulent tax returns. The past few days has seen a surge in phishing attacks on tax professionals.
The purpose of the IRS e-Services phishing scam is to obtain tax professionals’ e-Services usernames and passwords. The emails use a variety of subject lines that have been crafted to attract attention and ensure the emails are opened.
The emails claim to have been sent by the IRS about issues with the user’s e-Services account. The emails warn that the user’s e-Services account has been closed, suspended or blocked. In order to reactivate the account or prevent its closure, the email recipient is required to login to their account.
A link is supplied in the email that enables the recipient to take the required action. Clicking on the link will direct the user to a login page that closely resembles the IRS e-Services portal. Entering in a username and password into the login page will see the details captured by the attackers.
In response to the high volume of phishing attacks on tax professionals, the IRS has been improving account security in recent weeks. The IRS has been asking tax professionals to revalidate their accounts to prevent delays when accessing their e-Services accounts. The attackers appear to be taking advantage and piggybacking on those recent communications.
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The IRS warns all tax professionals that if for any reason their e-Services account has been closed, they should contact the e-Services Help Desk to reactivate their account, but never to click on any links contained in emails. While links to malicious websites are used for this scam, users should also be wary about any attachments sent in e-Services emails.
This tax season has seen a major increase in tax-related email scams, most notably a massive rise in W-2 Form phishing scams. At least 140 successful W-2 Form phishing attacks have already been announced, although with two weeks left of tax season that figure is certain to rise. K12 schools, colleges and other higher education institutions have been extensively targeted this year, as has the healthcare industry. Some of the phishing scams have resulted in thousands of employees’ tax details being obtained by fraudsters.
The last few days before the April 18 deadline for submitting tax returns is likely to see many more phishing attacks performed. All businesses should therefore be on their guard and should exercise extreme caution.