In the W-2 phishing scam, the bad guy sends an email pretending to be an executive requesting the firm’s payroll tax data.
In the business email compromise, the bad guy sends an email pretending to be an executive sending wire transfer instructions.
The IRS is warning about a new scam that combines the W-2 scam and the business email compromise into a merged scam. According to KrebsOnSecurity:
“This is one of the most dangerous email phishing scams we’ve seen in a long time,” IRS Commissioner John Koskinen said. “Although not tax related, the wire transfer scam is being coupled with the W-2 scam email, and some companies have lost both employees’ W-2s and thousands of dollars.”
The key to the scam is tricking the email recipient into thinking the email is from a trusted sender. SP Guard helps fight email deception.