US Tax Season Phishing Scams and Malware Campaigns

Original release date: February 26, 2014

In the past, US-CERT has received reports of an increased number of phishing scams and malware campaigns that seek to take advantage of the United States tax season. The Internal Revenue Service has issued an advisory on its website warning consumers about potential scams. Tax season phishing campaigns may include, but are not limited to:

  • Information that refers to a tax refund,
  • Warnings about unreported or under-reported income,
  • Offers to assist in filing for a refund, or
  • Links to counterfeit e-file websites.

These messages, which can appear to be from the IRS, may ask users to submit personal information via email, or include links to sites that request personal information or host malicious code.

To protect themselves against these types of phishing scams and malware campaigns, users and administrators are encouraged to take the following measures:


This product is provided subject to this Notification and this Privacy & Use policy.