The Evolution of Phishing & How to Evade Tax Scams
As technology continues to evolve, so do the dangers of financial frauds. Technology has given financial scammers and cyber criminals more resources to target and cease their victims, but there are ways to avoid these high-risk hustles. In this blog, we’ll dive into the common types of phishing attacks and tax scams and how to avoid them.
What is Phishing?
According to the National Institute of Standards and Technology, phishing is simply a “technique for attempting to acquire sensitive data”. It’s a cybercrime where scammers will pose as a legitimate source such as a bank or the IRS and will attempt to lure individuals or businesses into sharing their personal data such as their credit card details or passwords. This oftentimes results in devastating losses such as financial or identity theft. In fact, more than 4.75 million internet users fell victim to a phishing attack in 2023 according to software company, Splunk.
How to Spot a Phishing Attack:
Phishing comes in all shapes and sizes including through email, text messages, phone calls, social media and more. Email is the most common type of phishing where scam artists will utilize recognizable tactics to be aware of:
- Requests for Personal Information: Cyber criminals will almost always ask for personal information - a major red flag. Sensitive information should never be shared via email and legitimate companies would never ask for this type of information over email, especially Wildalea.
- Urgency: Typically scammers will use a sense of urgency to manipulate the victim into believing that there’s a serious problem and action should be taken quickly to avoid issues like being locked out of their account or a payment failure. Verify this type of notice by going to the company’s verified website and do not click on any links.
- Invalid Domains: Maybe scam artists will use a fake email address or display name that “appears” to be valid in order to look legitimate. Example: Our team emails all have “@wildalea.com” as the verified domain. If you receive an email that ends in something similar such as “@wildalea.net” or “@wildaleateam.com” it is illegitimate and should be reported as spam.
- Faulty Links & File Attachments: Cyber criminals will use fake links and corrupted attachments to gain access to your computer or obtain sensitive information. Do not click on any links or open any attachments if the email looks suspicious.
Tax Scams:
Some individuals succumb to tax scams year after year thinking that the IRS has requested payment when in reality, it’s a phishing attack. It’s important to know that the IRS would never call, text, or email you demanding immediate payment or threaten legal action. Most (although not all) IRS communication is handled by U.S. mail and many notices from the IRS typically include a letter or number which can be verified at irs.gov. If you are unsure about the validity of the IRS’ attempt to contact you, take action to verify the source, or contact the Wildalea team to help you verify.
Our Wildalea Promise:
Data and cyber security is paramount at Wildalea. Our company leverages Taxdome, our secure, client portal to streamline that communication ensuring your personal tax information gets to our team in the safest way possible. We will never ask you for sensitive information via email and uphold the highest cyber security practices in our day-to-day. We aim to keep you safe, educated, informed and compliant.
