Internal Revenue Service warns of phishing scam involving W-2s

The Internal Revenue Service is warning businesses and other tax preparers to beware of a phishing scam targeting the W-2 forms of workers.

The IRS said in an Aug. 15 news release that scammers posing as company executives have been asking human resource officers to forward a list of employees and their W-2 forms.

About 200 businesses, nonprofits and other tax preparers fell victim to the scam this year, up from 50 the previous year, the IRS said.

The agency said anyone getting a suspicious email about tax documents should telephone the sender, using a telephone number not in the email because the number on the email could be a scam phone number.

Businesses should also make sure their employees with access to W-2 forms or other sensitive information should be aware of this kind of scam.

Finally, the IRS advised: “Invest in software that will flag suspicious emails.”