Beware TurboTax Phishing 2023 - 2024 Tax Season
Tax season can present a number of challenges that need to be tackled when reporting your income, and taking advantage of tax deductions. However, the challenges don't end there. With the ever growing connectivity of the internet and smart phone technology, security issues are on the rise, ands TurboTax Phishing Attacks are a threat we all need to pay heed to!
There have already been issues of TurboTax Phishing Attacks with each new tax season, and no doubt we will be seeing more.
Take Heed: TurboTax Phishing Attacks 2023 - 2024
Here it is, tax season again and the and the scammers are all about us, keep your guard up and take heed. These sly bad guys go to great lengths to slip their way into company Accounting or HR teams in order to convince them that they're a legitimate entity to send employee W-2's to. However, these scammers also directly target employees as well.
With TurboTax being the most popular online tax preparation service in the U.S., there is no doubt those up to no-good find this service to be a ripe source for Phishing Attacks.
Beware TurboTax Phishing Attacks Can Be Full Blown Campaigns That Look Like The Real Deal
These scammers actively pursue defrauding online account holders of their personal and financial information by posing as legitimate companies providing you an important service.
As popular as TurboTax is, these massive campaigns do a great job of looking like they come from directly from Intuit (TurboTax) in order to get you hooked, and reel you in. Here is what to be aware of:
Often phishing attacks address the subject of "important privacy changes". They attempt to get you to click on a link to "opt out" of having personal information shared, a social engineering trick.
Other attempts try to get you to "Confirm Your Account" or state that "Your Tax Return Has Been Rejected" to get you to react without taking the time to analyze the warning and think it through.
Clicking on the link may allow them to download malware onto your device that steals information from your computer or phone.
How To Prevent TurboTax Phishing Attacks
- Make sure your Internet Security Software is up to date, but don't rely on it.
- Microsoft Security Essential should be updated regularly
- Install a highly rated and reviewed Malware cleaner like Malwarebytes, see this review https://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2455505,00.asp FREE
- Look at the link as above, ask yourself, is pcmag.com a legit site?, does that actual address appear in the status bar when you hover over it? Yes! then proceed once sure that url points to a legitimate site.
- Always keep all your software programs updated with the latest patches
- Avoid clicking on links in emails or text messages from unknown sources
- Instead visit their website directly by typing their address in your browser
- Think Before You Click! ask yourself could this be a scam?
What Are Legitimate "Trusted" TurboTax Domains?
Often TurboTax domains are mimicked to fool you. If the landing page does not show a legitimate TurboTax Domain, turbotax.shadysite.com, don't go!
Legitimate Domains For TurboTax Include:
- turbotax.com, and any sub domain "intuit.turbotax.com" etc
- intuit.com, and any sub domain "turbotax.intuit.com" "myturbotax.intuit.com" "ttlc.intuit.com" "support.turbotax.intuit.com" will all still be legit!
How To Report TurboTax Phishing Attacks:
If you received emails, supposedly from TurboTax, claiming your name, password or email address was changed, and that you request the change (when you did not), to click on a hotlink to the security team.
This is clearly NOT a legitimate email. In this and other suspicious cases, you should forward this email (with the email headers intact, if possible) to spoof@intuit.com. Where they will review it and address any necessary security precautions and notifications.
Enjoy, and be cautious and safe out there!!! PrepareIncomeTaxes.Com :)
