Scammers Using W-2 Forms to Obtain Your Personal Information

Officials are warning businesses about a new scam involving W-2 forms. Thieves are gaining access to employee W-2’s to access sensitive information.

W-2 scams put workers at risk for tax-related identity theft. The IRS recommends that all employers educate employees about this scheme, especially those in human resources and payroll departments.

Here are five warning signs about the scam:

• The thief poses as a company executive, school official or other leader in the organization.
• Scam emails often start with a simple greeting. It can be something like, “Hey, you in today?”
• The criminal sends an email to an employee with payroll access and requests a list of all employees and their Forms W-2. The thief may even specify the format in which they want the information.
• Thieves use many different subject lines and use words like “review,” “manual review” or “request.” In some cases, the thief may send a follow up email asking for a wire transfer.
• Because payroll officials believe they are corresponding with an executive, it may take weeks for someone to realize a data theft occurred. Criminals usually try to use the information quickly, sometimes filing fraudulent tax returns within a day or two.

If you think you were a victim of this scam, visit IRS.gov to find out how to report it.

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