The Iowa Department of Revenue (IDR) and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) are warning of a new scam that has spread across the country and has been reported in Iowa. It targets professional tax practitioners in the form of a phishing email that appears to come from a state accounting and professional association. The IRS reports they received notification last week from tax professionals who forwarded the fake emails that were trying to trick receivers into revealing their email usernames and passwords. They have specifically targeted professionals in Iowa, Illinois, New Jersey and North Carolina, and reports have also been received about a Canadian accounting association. The awkwardly worded phishing email states, “We kindly request that you follow this link HERE and sign in with your email to view this information from (name of accounting association) to all active members. This announcement has been updated for your kind of information through our secure information sharing portal which is linked to your email server.” Both governmental organizations are urging tax practitioners to be on alert for these types of emails. If you have any questions about the legitimacy of any correspondence, contact the association directly rather than click on any links or attachments. Anyone who has received this suspicious email should forward it to phishing@irs.gov.
