​​​​A Form W-2 email phishing scam continues to impact employers and payroll service providers. This email phishing scam can result in the large-scale theft of sensitive data that criminals use to commit crimes, including filing fraudulent tax returns.

Cybercriminals use techniques to disguise an email, making it appear to come from an organization executive. They email an employee in the payroll or human resources departments, requesting a list of all employees and their W-2 forms.

Employers should immediately report W-2 information thefts to the IRS and Wisconsin Department of Revenue (DOR).

Contact information

• IRS – Email dataloss@irs.gov and place "W2 Data Loss" in the subject line. Organizations should also file a complaint with the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center.
• DOR – Follow instructions on the department's Identity Theft page.

Employers that receive a W-2 scam email, but do not fall victim, should forward the email to phishing@irs.gov.

The W-2 scam is one of several scams focused on the large-scale thefts of sensitive tax information from tax preparers, businesses and payroll companies. For more on tax scams, visit the IRS Tax Scam page.

January 9, 2019