The IRS and its Security Summit partners warned tax professionals of an increase in phishing emails that involve payroll direct deposit and wire transfer scams. These business email compromise/business email spoofing (BEC/BES) tactics, which generally target all types of industry and employers, are now targeting tax preparers as well.
General non-tax related BEC/BES email scams should be forwarded to Internet Crime Complaint Center, www.ic3.gov, which is monitored by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Tax-related phishing emails should be forwarded to [email protected], which is monitored by IRS cybersecurity professionals. This reporting process also enables the IRS and Security Summit partners to identify trends and issue warnings.