With tax return season here, the Internal Revenue Service is warning of an ongoing phishing campaign targeting university students and staff. The scammers are primarily messaging students and staff with “.edu” email addresses. Users at both private and public educational institutions are receiving the scam messages.
The email subject lines read some variation of “Tax Refund Payment” or “Recalculation of your tax refund payment.” It asks the recipient to click a link and submit a form on a website that asks for personally identifiable and sensitive information, including a social security number.
People who receive this scam email should not click the link or respond. They can report it to the IRS by saving the email using “save as” and then sending that attachment to phishing@irs.gov, or by forwarding the email as an attachment to phishing@irs.gov.
You may also report potential spam and malicious emails with one click from your Fordham Gmail safely and in real-time with the Cofense Reporter Gmail add-on. You can learn more about Cofense here.
The IRS does not initiate contact with taxpayers by email for personal or financial information. The IRS will send physical mail to your home or business if they need to contact you.