Stay Away From the "Dirty Dozen"

         Every year criminals are relentless in their attacks on Taxpayers to steal their personal information. In a similar way, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) updates the “Dirty Dozen” list of the 12 most commonly used frauds and scams that lead to identity theft. This serves as a warning to Taxpayers, Businesses, and Tax Professionals. For 2019, the Number 1 scam to aware of are phishing schemes.

          We must be on constant guard against phishing attacks, because they are tricky and cleverly disguised to imitate a real organization, such as the IRS. However, there are some basic protective steps that each of us can take. First, we must be cautious with our personal information and not quick to share it when an unexpected message demands it. The emails and websites may be very convincing. Many people are comfortable on Social Media and may not think twice about sharing information there. Remember that the IRS will start contact with a written letter, not an email or text. If you receive a message like this, please forward it to phishing@irs.gov to aid in the fight against these criminals.

          Companies must protect themselves against business email compromise (BEC) or spoofing (BES) scams. These tactics are directed at Human Resources or Payroll personnel to steal information about employees or funds from the company. Once an email scam is successful, that account will continue to be used in a variety of ways, either within the company or directed at clients. We cannot let our guard down. Let’s keep our personal and business information safe and forward suspicious messages to phishing@irs.gov. 

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