The US Internal Revenue Service issued a warning to taxpayers about a new phishing campaign that employs Emotet malware to steal personal information. The emails, which appear to come from the IRS, include a malicious attachment or link that, if clicked, will download the Emotet malware on a victim's machine.

"The phishing emails in question contain the subject “IRS Tax Forms W-9” and a spoofed sender address of “IRS Online Center.” The short message contained in the body of the email is riddled with typos. A 709KB “W-9 form.zip” attachment contains a 548MB Word doc titled “W-9 form.doc.” Malwarebytes malware intelligence analyst, Chris Boyd, said the size marks it out as suspicious" (InfoSecurity Magazine, 2023). The tactic is utilized to trick or break the security tools by making them unable to handle the large file size. Threat actors then attempt to coax victims into enabling macros to initiate the Emotet download.

Emotet is banking Trojan that has been around since 2014, but later versions added malware delivery and spam services. It is often used in email spam campaigns with fake emails focusing on subjects like parcel shipping, invoices, and payment. Despite being severely disrupted by law enforcement in January 2021, Malwarebytes reports Emotet remaining as one of the top biggest threats to businesses this year. US taxpayers are advised to file early and be wary of suspicious refunds, fake banking portals, and emails pressuring them into filling refunds.

Avoiding Tax Scams:

Here are some of the ways you can outsmart tax fraudsters and keep one step ahead of the phishing, malware, and social engineering attacks which come around every year during tax season.

File early. One of the quickest ways to stumble into a trap is to leave filing your tax return until the last minute. That added pressure can mean responding to fake mails you otherwise would have ignored.

Be careful around suspicious refunds. Tax agencies have a proper process for issuing refunds, found on their websites. Some, like HMRC, are very clear that refunds are never issued by email. If in doubt, phone the tax office directly and ask if what you have is the real deal or a fake.

Beware of fake bank portals. Some tax scams will ask you who you bank with, and then open up a phishing page for that bank. Always navigate directly to your banking website, click throughs and redirects typically spell danger.

Avoid the pressure pitch. Tax scammers like to hurry you along to data theft and malware installs. Claims of only having 24 or 48 hours to file for a refund should be treated with skepticism. As with most solutions for these forms of social engineering, contact the tax entity directly.

Users should always be cautious of individuals or organizations that ask for personal information. Most companies will not ask for sensitive data from its customers. If in doubt, users should verify with the company itself to avoid any potential issues.

Users should always take a close look at the sender’s display name when checking the legitimacy of an email. Most companies use a single domain for their URLs and emails, so a message that originates from a different domain is a red flag.

As a general rule, users should not click links or download files even if they come from seemingly “trustworthy” sources.

Check for mismatched URLs. While an embedded URL might seem perfectly valid, hovering above it might show a different web address. In fact, users should avoid clicking links in emails unless they are certain that it is a legitimate link.

Users should always be on the lookout for any grammatical errors and spelling mistakes. Legitimate companies will often employ proofreaders and editors who ensure that the materials they send out are error-free.

Users should not be frightened or intimidated by messages that have an alarmist tone. They should double check with the company if they are uncertain about the status of their accounts.

Phishing emails are designed to be sent to a large number of people, so they need to be as impersonal as possible. Users should check whether the message contains a generic subject and greeting, as this can be a sign of a phishing attempt.

Although not every end user has access to advanced anti-phishing software, they can still use the built-in protection of their email clients to filter messages. One example is setting the email client to block all images unless approved.

Legitimate companies will never send confirmation emails unless there are specific reasons for doing so. In fact, most companies will avoid sending unsolicited messages unless it’s for company updates, newsletters, or advertising purposes.

Users should always take the context of an email or message into account. For example, most online accounts do away with viewable member numbers, so users should be wary if they receive emails containing a “member number” for services that generally don’t use them.

It is important to take note of unusual information in the text of the message. Any mentions of operating systems and software that are not typically used by consumers can often be indicators of a phishing attempt.

If it seems suspicious, it probably is. Users should always err on the side of caution when it comes to sending out personally identifiable information through messages and emails.

Source:

https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/irs-phishing-emails-emotet/

https://www.malwarebytes.com/blog/news/2023/03/beware-fake-irs-tax-email-delivers-emotet-malware