A letter from IRS is rarely good news. But these two messages should really give you pause. The Service just released a list of common e-mail scams con artists try to pull by pretending they’re working for IRS.

Most of the cons are targeted at individual taxpayers, but two have companies squarely in their sights. Watch out if one of these messages lands in your in-box:

1. Company report scams — An e-mail that looks like it was sent from an IRS.gov address. It’ll also mention you (or a colleague) by name as well as your company name, which can make it look legitmate. The message asks you to download a “company report.” If you do, you’ll also be downloading malware that could hijack your computer.
2. Tax court scams — This e-mail appears to have been sent from the U.S. Tax Court. It’ll have an attached document which it claims is related to a court case between your company and IRS. If you download the document, you’ll be opening the door to viruses and other malware.

It’s worth reminding the rest of your Accounting colleagues, IRS generally won’t contact you by e-mail. If you get a suspicisous message that appears to be from IRS, forward it to phising@irs.gov  that helps the Service track and find these would-be scammers.

Tags: Fraud prevention, IRS, Security, Technology