Why We Won’t Open Your Attachment or Click on Your Link

Dear Geoffrey,
I am attaching a PDF with my W2 information for my tax return.

Dear Sterck Kulik O’Neill,
Can you tell me how much it would cost for you to do my tax return. I am sending a PDF copy of last year’s return with this email.

Hey, Charles. I have uploaded my tax information to http://bit.ly/my2017taxinformation .

A few times a month we get messages inviting us to open an attachment to an email or to click on a link where we are supposed to get information a client (or prospective client) has sent us.

We don’t click to open or follow! Even when the messages come from an email address of a client we know.

Few of the messages we get out of the blue — from people we know and from people we don’t know — are legitimate! They are Spear Phishing attempts. Spear Phishing attackBad guys stuff malicious software in the PDF they are attaching in the hopes that our anti-virus software is weak or out of date. Or, they set up a web page that tries to download evil code to infect our computers, probably when we think we’re clicking to download the promised information.

They can address us by name by picking off our identities and email addresses off the Internet. They can pretend their clients of ours because they’ve broken into a client’s computer and are accessing their list of contacts.

These guys know their business and are hoping that someone will let their guard down for just a minute! And, the busy tax season time, CPAs are distracted. We are much more likely to CLICK without thinking.

But, so far, no one in our office has succumbed to the temptation to click. We keep telling ourselves that our clients know not to send sensitive information by email —  the data could be read and the ripped off by someone monitoring along the way. Moreover, we provide our clients with a secure portal to upload and download their information.

So, if you send us an email message that suggests we open an attachment or visit a link, we won’t click! (Really, we will try very hard not to click!)

Usually we don’t even respond to emails we think might possibly be from scammers. If the message is from a client, we may call and see if they really sent the message or suggest that their email has been hacked.

Of course, you should not email your social security number, private financial information, or even credit card numbers to anyone as a normal Word document, PDF, or plain text. It’s just too easy for a bad guy to monitor the Internet and help himself to your private info.

But, even if you’re willing to take the risk of identify theft by mailing your tax return to us, to your mortgage broker, or to your attorney, a smart person won’t open the document unless you’ve just talked to them and told them what is coming. (And, when you give your notification, they should tell you to use a secure transfer method!)

So, use our portal to send information or contact for other ways to get delicate data to us!

What Does a Crook Sound Like?

Caller ID of Fraud CallCrooks trying to scare people into paying phony tax bills have been calling my home phone daily this past week.  The calls are robocalls from different phone numbers, all with caller IDs created to make me think the calls are official.

The message is very clipped and threatens arrest on a “no bail” warrant if I don’t call the number.  Today’s caller mentioned a Federal court case against me and something about a grand jury.

Oh, my!

Give a listen to today’s call and a couple more (hit stop to keep the threats from looping)

These calls are designed to scare people into calling the bad guys and paying made-up tax bills with credit card or bank transfers.

The real Internal Revenue Service (IRS) never calls, emails, or posts on social media demands like this.  They also don’t suddenly take you to court or convene grand juries.

The threatening calls I’ve gotten are crass, delivered in heavily accented English,  and easily dismissed as false… especially since I work for a CPA firm and know a bit about the rules.  Plus, I know I am up to date on my taxes!

But, obviously some people fall for these high pressure ruses.

Don’t let it be you.  And, talk to older relatives, newcomers to the country, or other people that may not know the IRS’s processes.  Make sure they know not to give in to these crooks!

For more information tax scams, see what the IRS says. If you get a call yourself, report it to the IRS by email or report the scam via an online form.

And, if you need the help of a real accountant, please contact us at 415.433.4500!