The Oceanside Chamber of Commerce
The Oceanside Chamber's

Member News

Oceanside Chamber of Commerce
  • About Us
    • Advocacy >
      • Chamber Political Action Committee
      • Public Policy Guidelines
    • Our Work >
      • 2024 Annual Report
      • Committees - Task Forces - Forums
    • Oceanside Young Professionals
    • Oceanside Leadership Academy
    • Workforce Development >
      • SOCAL Workforce
      • Pooled Employer Plan
      • Kindness
      • Frontline Friendly
    • Chamber Staff
    • Privacy Policy
  • Membership
    • Member Portal
    • Business Directory >
      • All Categories
      • Coupons
      • New Members
    • Application
    • Testimonials
    • Digital Plaque - Oceanside Chamber Member
  • Events
    • Signature Chamber Events >
      • Meet the City of Oceanside
      • Armed Forces Day Operation Appreciation
      • Coastal Business Expo
      • North County Health Fair
      • Heroes of Oceanside and Camp Pendleton
      • Oceanside Senior Showcase
      • Rising Star Student Program
    • Monthly Chamber Events
    • Oceanside Community Events
    • Annual OCC Mixer Passs
  • Media
    • Publications >
      • Best of Oceanside Magazine
      • Military Publications
    • Advertising Your Business
    • Member News
    • Blog
  • Oceanside
    • About Oceanside >
      • History of Oceanside
      • Demographics
      • Arts and Culture
      • Education
      • Employment
      • Health Care
      • Religious Organizations
      • Local Government and Services
      • Retiring in Oceanside
      • Oceanside Maps
    • Visitor Information >
      • Beaches
      • Accommodations
      • Groups and Meeting
    • Things to Do >
      • Oceanside Events >
        • Downtown History Walks
        • Farmers Market
        • Sunset Market
      • Shopping >
        • Coupons
      • Dining
      • Surfing
      • Regional Attractions
    • Volunteer Opportunities
  • Resources
    • Community Resources
    • Local Business Resources
    • Military Resources
    • Sustainability Resources

IRS kicks off annual list of most prevalent tax scams:

3/19/2019

 
Picture
Agency warns taxpayers of pervasive phishing schemes in its ‘Dirty Dozen’ campaign
 
IRS YouTube Videos:
Phishing-Malware – English | Spanish | ASL
Dirty Dozen – English | Spanish | ASL
Kicking off the annual “Dirty Dozen” list of tax scams, the Internal Revenue Service today warned taxpayers of the ongoing threat of internet phishing scams that lead to tax-related fraud and identity theft.
 
The IRS warns taxpayers, businesses and tax professionals to be alert for a continuing surge of fake emails, text messages, websites and social media attempts to steal personal information. These attacks tend to increase during tax season and remain a major danger of identity theft.
 
To help protect taxpayers against these and other threats, the IRS highlights one scam on 12 consecutive week days to help raise awareness. Phishing schemes are the first of the 2019 “Dirty Dozen” scams.
 
“Taxpayers should be on constant guard for these phishing schemes, which can be tricky and cleverly disguised to look like it’s the IRS,” said IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig. “Watch out for emails and other scams posing as the IRS, promising a big refund or personally threatening people. Don’t open attachments and click on links in emails. Don’t fall victim to phishing or other common scams.”
 
The IRS also urges taxpayers to learn how to protect themselves by reviewing safety tips prepared by the Security Summit, a collaborative effort between the IRS, state revenue departments and the private-sector tax community.
 
“Taking some basic security steps and being cautious can help protect people and their sensitive tax and financial data,” Rettig said.
 
New variations on phishing schemes
The IRS continues to see a steady stream of new and evolving phishing schemes as criminals work to victimize taxpayers throughout the year. Whether through legitimate-looking emails with fake, but convincing website landing pages, or social media approaches, perhaps using a shortened URL, the end goal is the same for these con artists: stealing personal information.
 
In one variation, taxpayers are victimized by a creative scheme that involves their own bank account. After stealing personal data and filing fraudulent tax returns, criminals use taxpayers' bank accounts to direct deposit tax refunds. Thieves then use various tactics to reclaim the refund from the taxpayer, including falsely claiming to be from a collection agency or the IRS. The IRS encourages taxpayers to review some basic tips if they see an unexpected deposit in their bank account.
 
Schemes aimed at tax pros, payroll offices, human resources personnel
The IRS has also seen more advanced phishing schemes targeting the personal or financial information available in the files of tax professionals, payroll professionals, human resources personnel, schools and organizations such as Form W-2 information. These targeted scams are known as business email compromise (BEC) or business email spoofing (BES) scams.
 
Depending on the variation of the scam (and there are several), criminals will pose as:
  • a business asking the recipient to pay a fake invoice
  • as an employee seeking to re-route a direct deposit
  •  or as someone the taxpayer trusts or recognizes, such as an executive, to initiate a wire transfer.
 
The IRS warned of the direct deposit variation of the BEC/BES scam in December 2018, and continues to receive reports of direct deposit scams reported to [email protected]. The Direct Deposit and other BEC/BES variations should be forwarded to the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3). The IRS requests that Form W-2 scams be reported to: [email protected] (Subject: W-2 Scam).      
 
Criminals may use the email credentials from a successful phishing attack, known as an email account compromise, to send phishing emails to the victim’s email contacts. Tax preparers should be wary of unsolicited email from personal or business contacts especially the more commonly observed scams, like new client solicitations.   
 
Malicious emails and websites can infect a taxpayer’s computer with malware without the user knowing it. The malware downloads in the background, giving the criminal access to the device, enabling them to access any sensitive files or even track keyboard strokes, exposing login victim’s information.
 
For those participating in these schemes, such activity can lead to significant penalties and possible criminal prosecution. Both the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA), whicho handles scams involving IRS impersonation, and the IRS Criminal Investigation Division work closely with the Department of Justice to shut down scams and prosecute the criminals behind them.
 
Tax professional alert
Numerous data breaches across the country mean the tax preparation community must be on high alert to unusual activity, particularly during the tax filing season. Criminals increasingly target tax professionals, deploying various types of phishing emails in an attempt to access client data. Thieves may use this data to impersonate taxpayers and file fraudulent tax returns for refunds.
 
As part of the Security Summit initiative, the IRS has joined with representatives of the software industry, tax preparation firms, payroll and tax financial product processors and state tax administrators to combat identity theft refund fraud to protect the nation's taxpayers.
 
The Security Summit partners encourage tax practitioners to be wary of communicating solely by email with potential or existing clients, especially if unusual requests are made. Data breach thefts have given thieves millions of identity data points including names, addresses, Social Security numbers and email addresses. If in doubt, tax practitioners should call to confirm a client’s identity.
 
Reporting phishing attempts
If a taxpayer receives an unsolicited email or social media attempt that appears to be from either the IRS or an organization closely linked to the IRS, such as the Electronic Federal Tax Payment System (EFTPS), they should report it by sending it to [email protected]. Learn more by going to the Report Phishing and Online Scams page on IRS.gov.
 
Tax professionals who receive unsolicited and suspicious emails that appear to be from the IRS and/or are tax-related (like those related to the e-Services program) also should report it to: [email protected].
 
The IRS generally does not initiate contact with taxpayers by email to request personal or financial information. This includes any type of electronic communication, such as text messages and social media channels.

Comments are closed.
    SEARCH NEWS ARCHIVES
    CALCHAMBER NEWS
    ​
    CalChamber Alerts
    CalChamber Advocacy
    CalChamber HR
    Chamber Blog

    news Categories

    All
    Arts & Culture
    BGOC
    Business Advocacy
    Business Workshops
    Careers
    Charitable Events
    Christmas
    City Of Oceanside News
    Coastal Communities
    Community News
    Consumer Column
    COVID 19
    Cox Communications
    CSUSM
    Education
    Electricity
    Events
    Finance
    Frontwave
    Halloween
    Health & Wellness
    Housing
    Kaiser Permanente
    Kids Event
    Local Events
    Local News
    Medical
    Member News
    Military
    MiraCosta Community College
    Networking
    Non Profit
    North County News
    Oceanside Business
    Oceanside Events
    Oceanside News
    Oceanside Public Library
    Political Scene
    Promotions
    Restaurants
    Retail
    Safety
    San Diego County Event
    San Diego County News
    Scripps News
    SDG&E
    SDGE
    Senior Citizens
    Small Business News
    Tax News
    Things To Do
    Transportation
    Tri City News
    Valentine's Day
    Veterans
    Workforce Development

    ​RECENT NEWS

    June 2025
    December 2024
    November 2024
    October 2024
    September 2024
    July 2024
    June 2024
    May 2024
    April 2024
    March 2024
    February 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018

    RSS Feed

928 N. Coast Highway | Oceanside, CA 92054
760-722-1534 | [email protected]
Copyright © 2025 Oceanside Chamber of Commerce

Privacy Policy | Map/Directions
Picture
  • About Us
    • Advocacy >
      • Chamber Political Action Committee
      • Public Policy Guidelines
    • Our Work >
      • 2024 Annual Report
      • Committees - Task Forces - Forums
    • Oceanside Young Professionals
    • Oceanside Leadership Academy
    • Workforce Development >
      • SOCAL Workforce
      • Pooled Employer Plan
      • Kindness
      • Frontline Friendly
    • Chamber Staff
    • Privacy Policy
  • Membership
    • Member Portal
    • Business Directory >
      • All Categories
      • Coupons
      • New Members
    • Application
    • Testimonials
    • Digital Plaque - Oceanside Chamber Member
  • Events
    • Signature Chamber Events >
      • Meet the City of Oceanside
      • Armed Forces Day Operation Appreciation
      • Coastal Business Expo
      • North County Health Fair
      • Heroes of Oceanside and Camp Pendleton
      • Oceanside Senior Showcase
      • Rising Star Student Program
    • Monthly Chamber Events
    • Oceanside Community Events
    • Annual OCC Mixer Passs
  • Media
    • Publications >
      • Best of Oceanside Magazine
      • Military Publications
    • Advertising Your Business
    • Member News
    • Blog
  • Oceanside
    • About Oceanside >
      • History of Oceanside
      • Demographics
      • Arts and Culture
      • Education
      • Employment
      • Health Care
      • Religious Organizations
      • Local Government and Services
      • Retiring in Oceanside
      • Oceanside Maps
    • Visitor Information >
      • Beaches
      • Accommodations
      • Groups and Meeting
    • Things to Do >
      • Oceanside Events >
        • Downtown History Walks
        • Farmers Market
        • Sunset Market
      • Shopping >
        • Coupons
      • Dining
      • Surfing
      • Regional Attractions
    • Volunteer Opportunities
  • Resources
    • Community Resources
    • Local Business Resources
    • Military Resources
    • Sustainability Resources