IRS Warns of Phishing Scam
Posted by: Timothy Weaver on 08/29/2017 11:39 AM
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The Internal Revenue Service has issued a warning for U.S. citizens about a phishing scam that is designed to infect victims with ransomware.
In what appears to be a legit email, the criminals are asking the recipients to click on a link in order to fill out a questionnaire and send it back to the IRS. Of course, the download is a form of ransomware that will encrypt the victims files.
"This is a new twist on an old scheme," said IRS Commissioner John Koskinen. "People should stay vigilant against email scams that try to impersonate the IRS and other agencies that try to lure you into clicking a link or opening an attachment."
"People with a tax issue won’t get their first contact from the IRS with a threatening email or phone call," Koskinen also added.
The IRS also actively encourages users to send any IRS-themed phishing scams to phishing@irs.gov.
Source: Bleeping Computer
In what appears to be a legit email, the criminals are asking the recipients to click on a link in order to fill out a questionnaire and send it back to the IRS. Of course, the download is a form of ransomware that will encrypt the victims files."This is a new twist on an old scheme," said IRS Commissioner John Koskinen. "People should stay vigilant against email scams that try to impersonate the IRS and other agencies that try to lure you into clicking a link or opening an attachment."
"People with a tax issue won’t get their first contact from the IRS with a threatening email or phone call," Koskinen also added.
The IRS also actively encourages users to send any IRS-themed phishing scams to phishing@irs.gov.
Source: Bleeping Computer
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