The Internal Revenue Service issued a warning about a fairly sophisticated new phishing scam. Phishing, a technique where a malefactor impersonates someone (in this case the IRS,) in an effort to steal sensitive information such as user names, passwords and account numbers.

In its warning, the IRS advised that scammers are sending emails that purport to be from their agency. The emails have official-looking IRS graphics, text and claim to include an “official tax transcript.” In this particular new scam, the email has an attachment containing malware (a piece of software used for nefarious purposes) that infects the user’s computer and potentially exposes sensitive information, such as user names and passwords.

The malware that is being used can spread across computer networks and poses a specific threat to businesses. The emails usually appear to have been sent by the IRS, but are not set from an irs.gov email address. The IRS reminds taxpayers that they do not send unsolicited emails. If you receive a suspicious email, do not open the attachment, or forward the message to the IRS at phishing@irs.gov.

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