New Phishing Scam Targets Tax Preparers

Tax pros beware — fraudsters have developed a sophisticated new email scam designed to steal your tax software usernames and passwords.

The emails, which appear to come from a tax software provider, have the subject line “Software Support Update” and highlight an “important system upgrade,” according to a warning issued by the Internal Revenue Service earlier this month. The bogus messages go on to say that, due to the recent upgrade, preparers must revalidate their login credentials — and a link is provided to a fake website that mirrors the software provider’s real login page.

Of course, there is no upgrade; software providers do not embed links into emails asking users to validate passwords. Rather, the scammers use the information provided by the tax preparers to access their accounts and steal client data.

While the phishing emails have been prevalent south of the border, where many software providers do issue seasonal upgrades to tax preparers working toward the October 15 U.S. deadline for extension filers, the scam could easily migrate to Canada — if it hasn’t already.

This is a good reminder for tax professionals to implement stringent cybersecurity measures to protect their practice and clients, including never opening a link or an attachment from a suspicious email. Anyone who receives emails purportedly from their tax software providers seeking login credentials should send those scam emails to their tax software provider. (To find out more about cybersecurity and

To learn more about how you can integrate today’s modern tax technologies into your comprehension of tax preparation, consider registering for Knowledge Bureau’s new Introduction to Personal Tax Preparation course. For more information or a personal consultation from Knowledge Bureau, call 1-866-953-4769.

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