Also, the government agency will likely never contact you by email or over the phone as it prefers to do things the old fashioned way - through the mail. The email itself asks potential victims to review the attached HTML document and input sensitive information like their mother’s maiden name, Social Security number and date of birth which can be used to commit fraud or even worse, identity theft.Īs a general rule of thumb, the IRS isn’t going to ask you for this kind of information, as they already have it. Likewise, SpiderLabs also came across another IRS-themed phishing email that uses a share request to lure in victims.

They often use threats of prosecution for breaking the law or a lower tax payment in an effort to deceive unsuspecting taxpayers.Īccording to a new blog post (opens in new tab) from Trustwave’s SpiderLabs, security researchers recently came across a phishing email that offered $16.5 million in approved funds if the recipient provides all of the required information - which includes their name, address, phone number, occupation and ID card. Just like with Instagram, YouTube, Netflix and other popular brands, hackers love to impersonate the IRS in their scams.

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