It is tax season and with it comes online tax scams that attempt to steal tax refunds, bank account information or a person’s identity. In light of recent phishing attacks offering false claims of credit monitoring services, the Office of Information Security (OIS) in the Office of Technology Services (OTS) reminds Towson University employees to address all phishing emails–especially tax-related emails–with caution.
How to recognize common tax scams:
- The email says the user is owed a refund and should forward a bank account number where the refund may be deposited.
- The email contains exciting offers or refunds for participating in an “IRS Survey.”
- The email threatens the user with fines or jail time for not making an immediate payment or responding to the email.
- The email includes a “helpful” downloadable document (e.g., “new changes in the tax law,” a tax calculator, etc.). In reality, the download is a malicious file intended to infect your computer.
How to avoid becoming a victim of a tax scam:
- Do not respond to emails appearing to be from the IRS. The IRS does not initiate taxpayer communications through email or social media to request personal or financial information. If you receive an unsolicited email claiming to be from the IRS, send it to phishing@irs.gov. If it is received through your TU account, also forward it to phishing@towson.edu.
- Do not respond to unsolicited emails and do not provide sensitive information via email. If the email appears to be from the Payroll Office, bank, broker, etc., contact the entity directly. Do not open any attachments or click on links contained in unsolicited or suspicious emails.
- Secure your computer with recent system and application updates. Anti-virus and anti-spyware software should be installed, running and receiving automatic updates. Use a strong and different password for each account.
Additional tax-related resources from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS):
- IRS 2015 Dirty Dozen Tax Scams
- IRS’ Taxpayer Guide to Identity Theft
- Current Tax Scams and IRS’ Consumer Alerts
- Report Phishing to the IRS
OIS reminds the campus to forward phishing emails received through TU accounts to phishing@towson.edu.
