The tax season deadline in the U.S. is April 15, 2020, and that means scammers are officially on the prowl for unsuspecting tax fraud victims. Attackers are utilizing both time-tested and new techniques to collect tax information and personal data from victims and target individual and corporate accounts.
No one is immune from tax season risks, and most of us share a healthy respect for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Scammers rely on fear and stress to coerce individuals and employees into making same-day tax payments or releasing sensitive information. Everyone’s at risk of tax identity theft and social engineering fraud, but financial institutions need to be on particularly high alert for social engineering, vulnerabilities and ransomware attacks.
The IRS has joined forces with investigators and fraud experts to crack down on scams. Each year, a list of “dirty dozen” tax fraud trends is released to educate consumers. Luckily, these efforts have paid off, and some common fraud schemes from prior years are fading away. That doesn’t mean criminals are going anywhere, however. Instead, they’re evolving to stay one step ahead.
Here’s what to look for during the 2020 tax season and some tips for protecting against fraud for both individuals and businesses.
Tax ID Theft
Identity theft happens year-round. Still, professional scammers see tax season as a chance for massive windfalls using stolen personally identifiable information (PII). In 2018, the IRS reported ..
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