You’re going to start seeing more tax-related spam, but remember, that doesn’t actually mean there’s more spam
Summary: Cisco Talos reports that tax-related scams recur every filing season across email, texts, phone calls and physical mail, and that one scam from last year's tax season could have cost consumers up to $5,000 in penalties for claiming a fraudulent tax credit. Talos' telemetry indicates spam has not increased during U.S. tax filing season for many years; the volume stays the same and only the subject matter changes, with deadlines falling on March 15 in Japan, April 15 in the U.S., and April 30 in Brazil, Canada and Chile.
What's compelling: The tax-season spike is a perception effect, not a volume change, so a team that staffs up for March and April is defending against the wrong signal while the same social-engineering tactics run year-round and simply switch topics to primaries, vacation deals or fake gift cards once the deadline passes.
Read the original at Cisco Talos ↗
- Topics
- Phishing & Social Engineering
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