IRS Urgently Warns Tax Professionals of EFIN Scam

Summary

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and state tax agencies are warning tax professionals of a phishing scam targeting tax professionals. The scammers impersonate the IRS in an attempt to collect e-file identification numbers (EFINs), driver’s license images, and other credentials. These phishing emails appear to come from “IRS Tax E-Filing” and contain the subject line, “Verifying your EFIN before e-filing.” Additionally, other phishing emails have been spotted attempting to gather Preparer Tax Identification Numbers (PTINs) and e-Service credentials, or claiming to be clients filing remotely and include malware-laden attachments.

Recommendations

The NJCCIC recommends tax professionals avoid clicking on links, enabling macros, or opening attachments within unexpected or unsolicited emails. Additionally, users are encouraged to exercise caution with unexpected emails, even those that come from a known contact. The IRS requests tax professionals who receive these phishing emails to save the email as a file and forward as an attachment to phishing@irs.gov, as well as notify the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration at  www.tigta.gov to report the IRS impersonation scam. Supplementary mitigations can be found in IRS’ Publication 4557, Safeguarding Taxpayer Data and  Identity Theft Information for Tax Professionals.