Cybercriminals are taking advantage of tax season to lure valuable W-2 information from vulnerable businesses. As we all know, a W-2 contains valuable information such as an individual’s name, address, Social Security number, salary and withheld taxes. Cybercriminals can use this information to file fake tax returns and pocket tax refunds.
An example of a common phishing scheme starts with a scammer posing as a legitimate employee of a company, sending an email that looks like it is coming from an internal email address, often the human resources department or the finance department, or even from the CEO of the company. A cybercriminal may even impersonate an employee using stolen personal data from that employee. The email from the scammer attempts to trick the recipient into sending the scammer W-2s, often creating a sense of urgency for a quick response.
