How Emotions Make Taxpayers Vulnerable to a Phishing Attack

How criminals take advantage of your emotions

It’s actually quite simple to conduct some basic online research, much of which is now automated. Attackers can seamlessly uncover who is mad about their return and exploit that anger through highly personalized messages.

Such messages will attempt to appease the anger, indicating that 1) a refund amount has been increased; 2) there’s a way to increase a refund; 3) the decreased return is due to a misfiling, or 4) the IRS made a mistake.

For years, including this year, the IRS warns citizens about scams like ghost preparers, W2 scams, phone scams, and even email phishing attacks. Criminals have sent emails impersonating the IRS and use tax transcripts as bait to entice users to open documents containing malware.

Here are some helpful tips to avoid becoming a victim of a phishing attack.

If you’re upset about your tax return this year, consider scheduling a tax planning strategy with Morgan & Associates by filling out the contact form below, so that you are able to properly plan your withholding and spending throughout the year. Next year you should know exactly how much to expect back.