• FREE RESOURCES
        • Accounts Payable
          Finally! The trick to securing greater T&E compliance
          Benefits
          Rooting out folks who don’t belong on your health plan: A 6-point dependent audit checklist
          IT
          3 costly misconceptions about biz email compromise
          Credit and Collections
          Collecting via email: 4 must-make moves in your subject line
          Accounts Payable
          5 Tough-to-spot signs that an invoice is fake
  • PREMIUM CONTENT
        • Staff management
          120 Proven Communications Tips for Today’s CFO
        • Payroll
          Handling Nonexempt Employee Pay: Stay Compliant and Avoid DOL Audits
          Accounts Payable
          T&E Best Practices: Complete Guide to Ensure Compliance
          Payroll
          Payroll Best Practices: 4 Ways to Save Time and Money
        • Staff management
          Email Best Practices: A 6-Question Quiz
          Staff management
          Innovative Communications Strategies: An Email Case Study
          Staff management
          A 5-part Framework for Successful Workplace Communications
        • SEE MORE
          PREMIUM RESOURCES
  • CORONAVIRUS RESOURCES
  • LOGIN
  • SIGN UP FREE

CFO Daily News

  • FREE RESOURCES
        • Accounts Payable
          Finally! The trick to securing greater T&E compliance
          Benefits
          Rooting out folks who don’t belong on your health plan: A 6-point dependent audit checklist
          IT
          3 costly misconceptions about biz email compromise
          Credit and Collections
          Collecting via email: 4 must-make moves in your subject line
          Accounts Payable
          5 Tough-to-spot signs that an invoice is fake
  • PREMIUM CONTENT
        • Staff management
          120 Proven Communications Tips for Today’s CFO
        • Payroll
          Handling Nonexempt Employee Pay: Stay Compliant and Avoid DOL Audits
          Accounts Payable
          T&E Best Practices: Complete Guide to Ensure Compliance
          Payroll
          Payroll Best Practices: 4 Ways to Save Time and Money
        • Staff management
          Email Best Practices: A 6-Question Quiz
          Staff management
          Innovative Communications Strategies: An Email Case Study
          Staff management
          A 5-part Framework for Successful Workplace Communications
        • SEE MORE
          PREMIUM RESOURCES
  • CORONAVIRUS RESOURCES
  • Accounts Payable
  • Credit and Collections
  • Payroll
  • Accounting
  • Benefits
  • Finance Technology
  • More
    • Employment Law
    • Strategy
    • Policy and Culture
    • Fraud
    • Payments and Transactions
    • Budgeting and Forecasting
    • Banking
    • Staff Management
    • Cost Control
    • Supply Chain
    • IT

Put Payroll on alert: Cybercriminals targeting your I-9s and W-2s

Jared Bilski
by Jared Bilski
March 12, 2018
  • Accounting
  • Payroll
3 minute read
  • SHARE ON

The IRS recently warned employers to put their Payroll folks on high alert this tax season for phishing scams that have caught many of companies off-guard. 

The most recent warning centers around a W-2 scam that impacted “hundreds of organizations and thousands of employees last year.”

Claims skyrocketed in 2017

Reports of a Form W-2 scam skyrocketed last year (900 reports in 2017 compared to a little over 100 in 2016) and cybercriminals have easily been able to trick scores of payroll pros – and other staffers with access to payroll info – into disclosing sensitive info from the entire workforce.

In general, the scam involves an email appearing to come from a company exec, asking payroll pros for a list of employees and their W-2s.

With its warnings, the IRS is hoping to prevent another record year for scammers. For more details or what to do if you’ve fallen victim to the scam, visit.

The convincing I-9 request

If you get a very convincing email from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) about info on your employees’ I-9s, don’t follow the instructions.

The I-9 info request is the latest in a series of sophisticated scams targeting employers. And the scam appears to working.

Employers aren’t required to submit Forms I-9 to the USCIS,so such a request may raise some red flags for some folks. But the request is tripping up employers because the emails look very authentic. In fact, the emails actually come from a uscis.gov address. Plus, they even contain labels from both USCIS and the Office of Inspector General.

As if that’s not enough to fool some time-strapped HR pros, many of the emails also contain other details designed to make the messages appear legitimate — like your company’s mailing address.

The USCIS, however, has made it abundantly clear it’s not sending any emails to employers about their I-9s. It’s also warning firms not to click on any links in the email or respond to the sender.

Employers may also be tripped up because the feds recently announced they are ramping up I-9 audits, and firms want to respond as quickly as possible to any I-9-related requests. Again, the USCIS will never email about an I-9 audit.

As Alliance 2020, a background screening and information services provider, reminds employers:

“Audits of I-9’s are conducted by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement or the Department of Labor and notification of an upcoming audit is always done by a written notice from the agency.  USCIS never requires employers to submit Forms I-9 to USCIS unless they are being audited….never requires an employer to email copies to them.  At this time, the Officials will choose where they will conduct a Form I-9 inspection. For example, officials may ask that an employer bring Form I-9’s to a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement field office. Sometimes, employers may arrange for an inspection at the location where the forms are stored.”

What to do if you’re targeted

To prevent your company from falling victim to this I-9 scam, there are several preemptive steps you should take ASAP.

First, make sure your employees are aware of the I-9 scam email and what the phony email will look like.

If workers do receive an I-9 info request, they should forward those messages to the Federal Trade Commission via the ftccomplaintassistant.gov site.

Also, if you receive an email from the USCIS and aren’t sure it’s legit, you can always double-check by forwarding it to uscis.webmaster@uscis.dhs.gov.

 

Keep Up To Date with the Latest Finance News

With CFO Daily News arriving in your inbox, you will never miss critical stories on accounting, benefits, payroll & employment law strategies.

Sign up for a free CFO Daily News membership and get our newsletter!
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
CFO Daily News Logo
  • ABOUT CFO DAILY NEWS
  • ADVERTISE WITH US
  • WRITE FOR US
  • CONTACT
  • Accounting
  • Benefits
  • Payroll
  • Policy and Culture
  • Employment Law
  • Fraud
  • Finance Technology
  • Accounts Payable
  • Credit and Collections
  • Strategy
  • Payments and Transactions
  • Budgeting and Forecasting
  • Banking
  • Staff Management
  • Cost Control
  • Supply Chain
  • IT

CFO Daily News, part of the SuccessFuel Network, provides the latest Finance and employment law news for Finance professionals in the trenches of small-to-medium-sized businesses. Rather than simply regurgitating the day’s headlines, CFO Daily News delivers actionable insights, helping Finance execs understand what Finance trends mean to their business.

Privacy Policy Terms of Service
Copyright © 2021 SuccessFuel

WELCOME BACK!

Enter your username and password below to log in

Forget Your Username or Password?

Reset Password

Lost your password? Please enter your username or email address. You will receive a link to create a new password via email.

Log In

preloader