BBB Accredited Business Professional Liability Underwriters received a phony email from the IRS stating that he was eligible to receive a tax refund under their Internal Revenue Code for a total of $189.60. Attached were documents inquiring about personal, business, and private information.
Emails such as these are known as “phishing” emails and a common example of business identity theft. They are used to acquire sensitive financial information from the recipient or to install malware and viruses on recipients’ computers. According to a recent 2008 report by Websense Security Labs, nearly 10% of spam messages are phishing attacks, representing a 47% increase over the previous six-month period.
Do not divulge private or sensitive business information without checking the source thoroughly, and that includes a call to BBB.
For more information visit www.necal.bbb.org.