There’s a new e-mail scam targeting you and your employees. Here’s how to identify it when it lands in your inbox.

What’s the latest method fraudsters have for extracting victims’ personal information?

Pretending to be the IRS.

A rash of phony e-mails have been appearing lately that claim to be from the tax agency. Typically they ask the recipients for Social Security numbers or bank account info, saying they need it to properly process refund checks.

Other scams tell readers they’re being investigate for tax fraud and ask them to click a link for more information — but doing so installs a virus on the victim’s computer.

The government warns people to be suspicious of all e-mails claiming to be from the IRS, because

1. the agency doesn’t typically commuting through unsolicited e-mails, and
2. they wouldn’t ask taxpayers for secret, personal information.

The IRS asks that phony e-mails be forwarded to phishing@irs.gov

Tags: confidential data, e-mail scams, ID theft, IR