Member Alert: Phishing Schemes Targeting Businesses and Human Resource Departments

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is warning businesses and their payroll departments of a new phishing attack that has already claimed numerous victims. Shore to Shore wants to make sure you are aware of these attacks and know what steps you can take to protect yourself.

The IRS is warning companies to be on the lookout for phishing attempts which spoof corporate email and are being sent under the name of the company’s CEO. The phishing emails attempt to lure the company’s chief financial officer or controller for W-2s, employee payroll data, or other personally identifiable information for employees.

According to the IRS the Phishing Scheme involves asking for W2 information, specifically, the fraudulent emails include the following types of requests for information:

• “Kindly send me the individual 2015 W-2 (PDF) and earnings summary of all W-2 of our company staff for a quick review.”
• “Can you send me the updated list of employees with full details (Name, Social Security Number, Date of Birth, Home Address, Salary).”
• “I want you to send me the list of W-2 copy of employees’ wage and tax statement for 2015, I need them in PDF file type, you can send it as an attachment. Kindly prepare the lists and email them to me asap.”

If you feel you may have fallen victim to this phishing attempt, contact the proper authorities as soon as possible to make a report.

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