On February 2, 2017, the Internal Revenue Service, state tax agencies, and the tax industry issued an urgent alert and to all employers about a Form W-2 email phishing scam that has affected the corporate world and is spreading to other sectors, including school districts, tribal organizations and nonprofits. The W-2 scammers are stealing employee W-2 information via wire transfer and can victimize some organizations more than once.

The IRS also urged taxpayers and tax preparers to beware of using search engines to find technical help with taxes or tax software. Selecting the wrong “tech support” link could lead to a loss of data or an infected computer. They also mentioned if taxpayers are searching for a paid tax professional for tax help, they can use the IRS Choosing a Tax Professional lookup tool.

View the full IRS press release that explains in detail the phishing scam, steps employers can take if they see the W-2 Scam, and how taxpayers and tax preparers can protect themselves while working online this tax season.