Next time you get an official-looking email from your boss urgently asking for payroll information, pause.
Cybercriminals are posing as company executives, according to the New York Department of Taxation and Finance, to trick payroll and human resources employees into releasing confidential employee data.
“Let”™s say you”™re the head of HR,” said James Gazzale, a spokesman for the state tax office. “The scammer will email you with official-looking company letterhead and say, ‘Hey, I need Jane Doe”™s and John Doe”™s social security number.”™ You try to help out. It looks accurate and real and you send it right back to the scammer.”
The IRS says it has seen a 400 percent increase so far in this tax season in email schemes designed to trick recipients into forking over social security numbers, personal information, W-2 forms and filing status.
A typical spoof email posing as a message from a company executive will say, “Can you send me the updated list of employees with full details (name, social security number, date of birth, home address, salary)?”
There are often a couple of telltale signs, Gazzale said. One, the messages often have typos. Two, the hyperlinks, which you can see by hovering your cursor over highlighted text, often redirect the recipient to a bogus website.
“You just have to be vigilant,” he said. “Make sure you know what you are clicking on.”
If you think you have been fooled, immediately contact the state Wage Reporting Unit (518-457-7105) and notify the Internal Revenue Service.
The state has set up a web page with more information about identity theft and scams at tax.ny.gov/help/contact/fraud-scams-idtheft.htm. Remember, check the link before you click.
