New Phishing Scam Uses FBI and IRS Logos

There is a new twist on an old tax scam appearing in email inboxes recently.  The new phishing exploit uses both IRS and FBI emblems to scare recipients into provide personal information on a downloadable questionnaire.  You can read the official warning here.

I like to remind people that the IRS only communicates with taxpayers by postal mail.  Sometimes they might send a US Marshal.  And the FBI certainly would not be sending an email when they can send a Special Agent.

The image below shows an example of the fake email:

The following is from the IRS web site:

“REMEMBER: The IRS doesn’t initiate contact with taxpayers by email, text messages or social media channels to request personal or financial information. In addition, IRS does not threaten taxpayers with lawsuits, imprisonment or other enforcement action. Recognizing these telltale signs of a phishing or tax scam could save you from becoming a victim. See also: How to know it’s really the IRS calling or knocking on your door

0

About the Author:

I am a cybersecurity and IT instructor, cybersecurity analyst, pen-tester, trainer, and speaker. I am an owner of the WyzCo Group Inc. In addition to consulting on security products and services, I also conduct security audits, compliance audits, vulnerability assessments and penetration tests. I also teach Cybersecurity Awareness Training classes. I work as an information technology and cybersecurity instructor for several training and certification organizations. I have worked in corporate, military, government, and workforce development training environments I am a frequent speaker at professional conferences such as the Minnesota Bloggers Conference, Secure360 Security Conference in 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, the (ISC)2 World Congress 2016, and the ISSA International Conference 2017, and many local community organizations, including Chambers of Commerce, SCORE, and several school districts. I have been blogging on cybersecurity since 2006 at http://wyzguyscybersecurity.com
  Related Posts

Add a Comment


This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.