Tax Topics Make a Powerful Phishing Lure

This morning I took a second look at an e-mail that was in my junk mail. Even though my e-mail program was screaming, "Hey, this is junk! Don't bother with it!" I may have sneaked a peak to make sure it wasn't legitimate. It was (supposedly) from my bank, but when I opened it, the body of the e-mail was in all cursive and against a pretty blue background—a surefire sign that this e-mail most definitely was not from my bank.

Today's Tools and Tips column on NFIB.com warns you about another type of e-mail scam that's being seen more and more. It's a scam that's disguised not just as a friendly promotional note from your bank, but a message that is sure to get a small-business owner's attention immediately: an e-mail from the IRS. And not just the IRS, but the IRS Criminal Investigation Division. Gulp.