An article review.

Polite phishers try to capitalize on confusion

“If your CEO appears to be e-mailing you for a list of company employees, check it out before you respond.” That’s the statement from the Commissioner of the IRS in an article our friend Larry Turner brought to our attention, and since tax season is upon us once again you may want to bring it to the attention of your small business customers.

The phishing scam isn’t new but it always enjoys a resurgence around this time of year, hoping to capitalize upon how busy HR employees can be as they work to get forms out on time. The emails are usually polite and appear to come from the CEO of the company, asking for W-2 wage and tax statements for all employees. If the unwitting employee sends the files as requested, the perpetrators of the scheme can file phony tax returns and claim the fraudulent refunds for themselves.

Such scams–which are expected to cause $21 billion dollars in losses this year–have already claimed victims in 2016, including The Evening Post Industries of Charleston, SC. In some cases the perpetrators attempt to impersonate the IRS and contact targets through Facebook or even text message, something the real IRS says they never do.

So as we get closer to April 15 be on the lookout for suspicious requests from your boss–you could save yourself and your employees a great deal of trouble down the road!

Original article by Susan Tompor of USA Today.