W-2 Phishing Scam on the Prowl

In 2016, the Internal Revenue Service cautioned companies across USA that they could be victimized with an extremely harmful scam that aimed to steal W-2 tax forms. Ever-since, the W-2 spoofed e-mail campaign has included more-and-more victims into its net, particularly 4 employers-or-so from Indiana.

The scam inside Indianapolis too enabled the cyber-criminals to seize information about working staff of three entities namely American Senior Communities, Monarch Beverage Co. and Scotty's Brewhouse. Within Elkhart, manufacturer of granite countertops, laminate panels and construction items of other types Patrick Industries too was victimized with the W-2 phishing attack. Indystar.com posted this, February 27, 2017.

Actually, there's never any initiation by IRS to first get in touch with taxpayers in the country over telephone or text message, e-mail else social media. The agency doesn't as well ever involve the police of localities for its operations. Such tactics are the work of crooks seeking for compromising people's private data for monetary benefit.

IRS explains that an ordinary scam has somebody pretending to be an IRS representative who urgently asks for payment by calling over the telephone and says the payment should be through debit/credit card. In case the thugs are highly cunning they may as well direct the victims to pay via one gift card or 'already paid' debit card thereby leave no mark of their own selves.

From the Office of Indiana Attorney General, Isenberg said the phishing thugs were more refined compared to most other thieves. They weren't similar to the perpetrators of spam mails that Internauts received. The phishing criminals disguised too well, Isenberg added.

IRS says the W-2 phishing e-mail seems as though its sender is the company's chief executive officer else some other high-ranking officer. The message directs a gullible employee in payroll, human resource else accounting department of the company to respond by appending all employees' W-2 tax sheets. A sample e-mail requested to send the company staff's respective W-2 as well as earnings summary of 2016.

Anyone who doubts he's been victimized with ID-theft should report to Consumer Complaint Division of Indiana Attorney General by dialing (800) 382-5516 alternatively visiting the site www.in.gov/attorneygeneral.

» SPAMfighter News - 3/1/2017