Today's Technology for Tomorrow's Firm.
Issue link: https://cpapracticeadvisor.epubxp.com/i/652065
March 2016 • www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com 15 A Year in the Life of a PAYROLL Accountant is sponsored by SurePayroll and ADP The ADP logo and ADP are registered trademarks of ADP, LLC. ADP A more human resource. is a service mark of ADP, LLC. Copyright © 2015 ADP, LLC. Practice made perfect. You want to be more to your clients, and we want to offer you the fexibility you deserve. You can process payroll yourself using our proprietary cloud-based solution, refer clients directly to give your clients access to leading payroll and HR solutions, or even cash out of your existing payroll business to focus on what matters most to your frm. See how ADP ® can provide a more human resource to your frm and your clients: adp.com/cpaprograms. Te IR S has learned this scheme – p a r t o f t h e s u r g e i n p h i s h i n g emails seen this year – already has claimed several v ictims as pay roll and human resources ofces mis- takenly email pay roll data includ- ing Forms W-2 that contain Social S e c u r i t y n u m b e r s a n d o t h e r personally identi fable information to c ybercr imina ls posing as com- pany executives. " T h i s i s a new t w i st on a n old scheme using the cover of the ta x s e a s o n a n d W - 2 f i l i n g s t o t r y t r ick i ng people i nto sha r i ng per- sonal data. Now the criminals are foc u si ng t hei r sc heme s on com- pa ny pay rol l depa r t ment s ," sa id IR S Commissioner John Kosk inen. "If your CEO appears to be email- i n g y o u f o r a l i s t o f c o m p a n y employees, check it out before you respond. Ever yone has a responsi- b i l i t y t o r e m a i n d i l i g e n t a b o u t con f r ming the identit y of people request i ng persona l i n for mat ion about employees." I R S C r i m i n a l I n v e s t i g a t i o n already is reviewing several cases in which people have been tricked into sharing SSNs with what turned out to be c y berc r i m i na l s . Cr i m i na l s using personal information stolen elsewhere seek to monet ize data, including by f i ling f raudulent ta x returns for refunds. Tis phishing variation is known as a "spoofng" email. It will con- tain, for example, the actual name of the company chief executive ofcer. In this v a r i a t i o n , t he "C E O " sends an email to a com- pa ny pay rol l of f ice em- ployee and requests a list of employees and information including SSNs. T he fol low i ng a re some of the details contained in the e-mails: • Kindly send me the indi- vidual 2015 W-2 (PDF) and earn- ings summary of all W-2 of our company staf for a quick review. • Can you send me the updated list of employees with full details (Name, Social Security Number, Date of Birth, Home Address, Salary) as at 2/2/2016. • I want you to send me the list of W-2 copy of employees wage and tax statement for 2015, I need them in PDF fle type, you can send it as an atachment. Kindly prepare the lists and email them to me asap. Te IRS recently renewed a wider consumer alert for e-mail schemes a f ter seei ng a n approx i mate 4 0 0 percent surge in phishing and mal- ware incidents so far this tax season and other reports of scams targeting others in a wider tax community. IRS Warns Payroll and HR Pros of W-2 Scams By Isaac M. O'Bannon, Managing Editor T he Internal Revenue Service has issued an alert to payroll and human resources professionals to beware of an emerging phishing email scheme that purports to be from company executives and requests personal information on employees. Te emails are designed to trick ta x payers into th in k ing these are ofcia l communications f rom the I R S or others in the ta x industr y, including ta x sof ware companies. Te phishing schemes can ask ta x- payers about a w ide range of topics. E - m a i l s c a n s e e k i n f o r m a t i o n rel ated to ref u nd s , f i l i ng s t at u s , con f rming personal information, ordering transcripts and verif y ing PIN information. T h e I R S , s t a t e t a x a g e n c i e s and ta x industr y are engaged in a public awareness campaign – Taxes. Security. Together. – to encourage everyone to do more to protect per- sonal, fnancial and tax data. See IRS. gov/ta xessecurit y together or IR S Publication 4524 for additional steps you can take to protect yourself.