Dirty Dozen 2020: Payroll and HR Scam

    With so many businesses and employees working remotely, security have become a much greater concern. There are a variety of phishing tactics designed to steal the tax information from employers and tax professionals. This is why Payroll and HR Scams has earned a spot on the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Dirty Dozen list of 2020. 

    The goals of these scams are accomplished by Business Email Compromise (BEC) or Business Email Spoofing (BES). There are two well-known scams that are currently being used. A compromised email account is used to send requests for gift cards in different amounts. The other uses the victims email account to change their direct deposit information to an account that the criminal controls. Often fake IRS documents are used.

    The specific methods may change over time, but the goals are always the same. If you feel that a request is suspicious, look into it further. There are often little details that give away the fact that it is a scam. If you find that your business email has been compromised or spoofed the FBI Internet Criminal Complaint Center (IC3) would like to know so they can update their understanding of how the fraudsters continue to operate. The IRS can be informed about Form W-2 scams at phishing@irs.gov with the subject “W-2 Scam”.

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