In one type of phishing attack described by the IRS, scammers pose as IRS workers to try to coax employees into sharing social security numbers or bank account details.
Cybercriminals like to use seasonal trends and topics to make their scams as timely as possible. With April comes tax season, a time of year ripe for tax-related crimes designed to steal sensitive information. A new advisory from the IRS describes the different types of scams that pop up as people and organizations prepare to file their taxes.
Tax season is prime time for phone scams, the IRS cautions. In these infamous types of calls, which you can catch on YouTube, the scammers call someone and pretend to represent the IRS or another tax authority. The scammer claims that the person called owes a large sum of money and faces potential arrest unless they pay the amount due. Anyone who falls for the scam is often instructed to purchase gift cards to pay the funds.
In a related scam, a criminal calls someone claiming that they can help the person settle any overdue money or penalties due the IRS. Often known as “OIC Mills,” these scammers warn of a limited window of opportunity to resolve any tax debts through an Offer in Compromise program. Promising the taxpayer that such debts can be settled for pennies on the dollar, the scammer naturally collects any money without delivering anything in…
