The Internal Revenue Service is warninging tax professionals that cybercriminals are using a dangerous new phishing scam, involving phony emails claiming to come from the IRS, in an effort to steal taxpayers’ Electronic Filing Identification Numbers (EFINs).
The latest scam email claims to come from “IRS Tax E-Filing” and bears the subject line “Verifying your EFIN before e-filing.” the IRS said in its warning.
“Phishing scams are the most common tool used by identity thieves to trick tax professionals into disclosing sensitive information, and we often see increased activity during filing season,” IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig said in a statement. “Tax professionals must remain vigilant. The scammers are very active and very creative.”
In this latest scam, tax preparers are being asked to email documents that would disclose their identities and EFINs to identity thieves. The cybercriminals can then use the information to file fraudulent returns by pretending to be the tax preparer.
The IRS warns tax pros not to take any of the steps outlined in the email, especially responding to the email. The body of the bogus email states, “In order to help protect both you and your clients from unauthorized/fraudulent activities, the IRS requires that you verify all authorized e-file originators prior to transmitting returns through our system. That means we need your EFIN (e-file identification number) verification and Driver's license before you e-file.”
The cybercriminals are also asking for “a current PDF copy or image of your EFIN acceptance letter (5880C Letter dated within the last 12 months) or a copy of your IRS EFIN Application Summary, found at your e-Services account at IRS.gov, and Front and Back of Driver's License emailed in order to complete the verification process.”
“If your EFIN is not verified by our system, your ability to e-file will be disabled until you provide documentation showing your credentials are in good standing to e-file with the IRS,” the scam artists warn in the fraudulent phishing email.
The IRS is asking tax professionals who receive the email to save it as a file and then send it as an attachment to [email protected]. Preparers are also asked to reach out to the Treasury inspector general for tax administration at www.TIGTA.gov to report the IRS impersonation scam.
Phishing emails usually try to convince recipients to take action (such as clicking on a link or attachment), while threatening consequences for failing to do so (such as disabling the recipient’s account). The links or attachment can be set up to steal information or download malware onto the tax professional’s computer.
There have been earlier phishing scams that seek EFINs, preparer tax identification numbers (PTINs) or e-Services usernames and passwords from tax pros, the IRS said. Some cyberthieves pose as potential clients, which can be a particularly effective scam because there have been so many remote transactions during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Cyberthiefs may even pose as clients and interact repeatedly with a tax preparer, before sending an email with an attachment claiming to be their tax information. However, the attachment could contain malware enabling a hacker to track keystrokes and eventually steal all the user’s passwords or even take over control of their computer systems.
Some phishing scams turn out to be ransomware schemes in which the cyberthief gains control of the tax preparer’s computer server and holds the data hostage until a ransom is paid. The FBI warns against paying a ransom because cybercriminals frequently leave the data encrypted even after the ransom has been paid, the IRS warned.