GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - Tax season is here and the IRS is warning about tax-related phishing scams.
One phishing scheme in 2017 hit over 200 businesses and impacted hundreds of thousands of employees around the country.
The IRS says there are several things you can do to protect your identity, but it always comes down to verifying who is trying to contact you via email.
The IRS says criminals will typically impersonate a CEO or senior company official via email and will ask a human resources employee for staff W-2 forms. The bad guys then fill out a stack of 1040 forms and send them to the IRS, stealing tax returns.
To stop this from happening, HR officials need to be vigilant. Also, you can lower your chances of falling victim to these crimes by filing your taxes early.
If you fall victim to this crime or other identity theft, you can contact the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration here. You can also get more background on other scams at that location as well.
