Source: www.ctpost.com
The first heads-up on the W-2 email phishing scam came in late January and now, officials say, there has been an increase in the number of attempts to steal workers’ tax information.
Here’s how the scam works: Cybercriminals use various spoofing techniques to disguise an email to make it appear as if it is from an organization executive. The email is sent to an employee in the payroll or human resources departments, requesting a list of all employees and their Forms W-2.
The scam has now spread beyond the corporate world to other sectors, including school districts, tribal organizations and nonprofits.
Two Connecticut school districts in Glastonbury and Groton were targeted. In Glastonburym someone pretending to be the superintendent sent an email to the business office requesting information on personnel W-2 forms. Officials say a phishing scam last week compromised tax information for all 1,300 employees with Groton Public Schools.
“We are seeing a surge in W-2 phishing scams in New England, especially Connecticut and Massachusetts,” Joel P. Garland, an IRS Special Agent said in a statement Wednesday. “Thousands of employees have been impacted by these email scams, whereby Personally Identifiable Information (PII) and wage data are unwittingly turned over to fraudsters with malicious intent. IRS-CI will continue to vigorously investigate these crimes and assist taxpayers who become victims of stolen identity refund fraud.”