Phishing and impersonation scams once again top the IRS’s 2026 Dirty Dozen list, reinforcing warnings that tax season remains a prime opportunity for fraudsters. While IRS impersonation schemes are familiar to many employers, experts say the more persistent and damaging threat increasingly comes from employer‑based and payroll‑adjacent scams that target W‑2 data and employee payroll systems.

Sharell Barshishat, global advisory director for North America at BioCatch, says payroll functions are attractive targets because employees are conditioned to expect tax‑related communications during filing season and often feel pressure to act quickly. Matt O’Neill, founder of 5OH Consulting LLC and a former U.S. Secret Service agent, says attackers intentionally blend fraud into routine payroll workflows, making scams difficult to distinguish from legitimate business activity.

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