Did the IRS really call me?
“This is the Internal Revenue Service; our records indicate you have not paid your taxes. We have issued an arrest warrant. Call us immediately or you will be arrested.” Many of us have received this call or one really similar. Often, they are automated calls, while others are an actual person calling you. The goal of these calls is for you to submit personal information to them, typically things like you credit or debit card numbers, social security numbers, or other personal information.
These types of phone calls should be treated just like phishing emails. You should ask yourself, “Was this phone call unsolicited?”, “Did the caller push this as something urgent?”, “Did the caller threaten to call the police or say I will be arrested if I do not comply?”, or maybe, “Did the caller ask for my credit card number or social security number?”, if so, it was almost certainly a phishing phone call. Check out this article from the Center for Internet Security for further information. For more information on cybersecurity and ways to better protect your small business, check out Small Business, Big Threat and sign up for one of our webinars!