The Nigerian prince seems almost quaint.

Gone are the days when the Nigerian prince was the only nefarious figure menacing our inboxes.  A simple yet elegant scheme – our supposed prince unexpectedly fell upon a large sum of money, left behind by a fallen war hero, bequeathed by a terminally-ill spouse, or, perhaps, borne from the fruits of new age oil exploration. The funds are (somehow) rightfully yours, but a bureaucratic quagmire has them tied up, and they cannot be released until you pay a *small* fee. Just send a few million dollars to a specified bank account, and the endless riches are yours.

This year’s deadline for filing individual tax returns is April 18.

Malicious actors routinely target human resources professionals, certified public accountants, and individual employees with social engineering attacks during tax season in an effort to obtain copies of Internal Revenue Service Form W-2 (Wage and Tax Statement). Form W-2 contains the information that allows a malicious actor to file false tax returns and steal the refunds. Those who receive, process, or maintain copies of W-2s should be on the lookout for phishing emails and other types of social engineering attempts this tax season.