In this issue:

My first blog post ever was to warn the first edition newsletter subscribers about the "fake refund" tax scam (make sure to re-read it). As a reminder, that is when a scammer pretends that they have a refund especially for you. And if you are owed a refund, file early before a scammer files a tax return in your name!

This time I want to tell you about two more damaging tax scams that target people directly through phone calls and through fake tax preparers who seem helpful at first glance.

IRS Imposter Calls

One of the most common tax scams starts with a phone call, voicemail, text, or even an email claiming to be from the IRS. The message is urgent and threatening. You are told that you owe back taxes and that immediate payment is required to avoid arrest, wage garnishment, or legal action. Sometimes the caller claims a police officer is already on the way.

This is always a scam.

The IRS does not initiate contact by phone, text, email, or social media. They do not threaten arrest or demand payment using gift cards, wire transfers, or cryptocurrency. Scammers rely on panic to push people into acting before they think. If you receive a message like this, hang up or delete it. Do not engage, and do not provide any personal information.

Bogus Tax Preparers

Another growing threat comes from fraudulent tax preparers who promise unusually high refunds. These scammers often advertise aggressively during tax season and may charge fees based on a percentage of your refund, which is a major red flag. In many cases, they insist on having the refund deposited into their own bank account before passing it along to you.

The danger does not stop there. Bogus preparers may invent deductions or credits to inflate your refund. When the IRS eventually catches the fraud, you are the one responsible for paying back the money, along with penalties and interest. The scammer is often long gone.

To protect yourself, use a reputable tax professional who has a valid Preparer Tax Identification Number, never signs a blank return, and has your refund deposited directly into your account.

When it comes to taxes, slow down, verify everything, and remember that fear and urgency are the scammer’s favorite tools.

When I visited my 101-year-old grandpa a few weeks ago, he wanted me to help him with a few things on his three phones. One of the phones is an iPhone, and when I went to the Settings screen, I saw he had not upgraded to the latest operating system version. I told him there were some very important security fixes in the latest version and I initiated the upgrade process for him.

Security researchers recently warned that a critical iOS vulnerability was being actively exploited, meaning attackers were already using it against real people, not just testing it in a lab. This is why the latest iPhone update matters so much.

The flaw allows attackers to take control of an iPhone without the victim clicking a link, opening an attachment, or installing an app. These are often called zero-click attacks, and they are especially dangerous because there is nothing obvious for the user to avoid.

If your iPhone is not updated, an attacker could potentially read messages, access photos, track location data, activate the microphone, or use the device as a jumping off point to access other accounts.

For journalists, executives, activists, and everyday users alike, this kind of access can lead to identity theft, financial fraud, or long term surveillance. Once a vulnerability like this becomes public, criminals race to exploit it before people patch their devices.

According to reporting on the issue, hundreds of millions of users were at risk until the update was installed, including people who believed their phones were secure simply because they were not clicking suspicious links. That assumption no longer holds.

Installing the update takes only a few minutes. On your iPhone, go to Settings, tap General, then tap Software Update. If an update is available, tap Download and Install and follow the prompts. Make sure your phone is connected to Wi-Fi and plugged into power, or has sufficient battery charge.

Even though this "upgrade" didn't qualify as an automatic "update", to protect yourself going forward turn on automatic updates. In Settings, go to General, then Software Update, then Automatic Updates.

Apple releases updates like this to stop attacks that are already happening. Delaying installation does not make your phone safer. It leaves it exposed. Keeping iOS up to date is one of the simplest and most effective ways to protect your data and your privacy. As a bonus, you even get the new call screening function I wrote about recently!

Most of the time these will be companies that you don’t have any personal data with, but scan the name to make sure you aren’t affected.

Do you have an idea for a future newsletter? Please reply to this email and let me know.

Thank you so much!

Sincerely,
Cassie Crossley
Founder, Cyber Safe Center
https://www.cybersafecenter.com