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Scammers revive cyber schemes during tax season

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Tax scammers are exploiting the current political divide and resurrecting old websites to lure potential victims, according to a new report.

The report, released Tuesday by BforeAI, a cybersecurity company specializing in threat prevention, found cybercriminals and identity thieves reviving old internet domains, dating as far back as 2009, to fool victims this filing season. 

“Due to successful evasion techniques used by these cybercriminals, old websites with good reputations and rankings on search engines garner a sense of legitimacy among the targeted audience,” said the report. “Since security analysts generally warn people interacting with recently registered websites, old websites remain off the radar.”

Those include several websites registered using freely available platforms such as the venerable blogging service Blogspot. The fraudulent sites feature alleged “warnings” from the IRS about impending deadlines, but have giveaways such as misspellings and odd use of capital letters. BforeAI’s threat research team noticed that some of the old domains were re-registered last December right before tax season. 

Tax scam site

Scammers are also taking advantage of the current political climate in the U.S., launching websites mentioning President Donald Trump with tax-related keywords to entice users to their alleged services. One site used the keyword “trump” with “tax refund” while also offering a tax calculator. The BforeAI team also noticed cybercriminals exploiting the cryptocurrency arena through meme coin scams, including a “NoTax Coin” featuring Trump, who has launched memecoins of his own that have led to heavy losses for many investors. 

The threat researchers spotted a new tax-related service in which recently established businesses are leveraging the “gov” keyword to mislead people in search of legitimate government services. One website previously advertised a service to claim up to $32,000 in just 20 minutes, but now features an affiliate referral link and promotes a completely new business offering.

The BforeAI team also observed the use of the IRS logo to make fraudulent websites mimic the official IRS website, but with the use of different fonts and colors creating a confusing, unclear target. One such site featured the official IRS logo but was in Russian language and is probably targeting Russian nationals.

Some websites showed statements of tax payments, perhaps in an effort to lure victims into checking their statements and thereby sharing their financial data. The team also saw various phishing attempts featuring fake login and signup forms requiring users to authenticate their identities via ID.me, Google or their social media accounts.

“As we fulfill our tax obligations this season, be on the lookout for tax-related traps laid by cybercriminals,” warned the report.

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CrowdStrike says DOJ, SEC sent inquiries on firm accounting

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CrowdStrike Holdings Inc. said U.S. officials have asked for information related to the accounting of deals it’s made with some customers and said the cybersecurity firm is cooperating with the inquiry.

The Austin, Texas-based company said in a filing Wednesday that it has gotten “requests for information” from the U.S. Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission “relating to the company’s recognition of revenue and reporting of ARR for transactions with certain customers.” ARR refers to annual recurring revenue, a measure of earnings from subscriptions.

The company said the federal officials have also sought information related to a CrowdStrike update last year that crashed Windows operating systems around the world.

“The company is cooperating and providing information in response to these requests,” the filing states.

U.S. prosecutors and regulators have been investigating a $32 million deal between CrowdStrike and a technology distributor, Carahsoft Technology Corp., to provide cybersecurity tools to the Internal Revenue Service, Bloomberg News first reported in February. The IRS never purchased or received the products, Bloomberg News earlier reported.

The investigators are probing what senior CrowdStrike executives may have known about the $32 million deal and are examining other transactions made by the cybersecurity firm, Bloomberg News reported in May.

Asked for comment about the filing, CrowdStrike spokesperson Brian Merrill said, “As we have told Bloomberg repeatedly, this is old news and we stand by the accounting of the transaction.” 

A lawyer for Carahsoft previously declined to comment on the federal investigations, and representatives didn’t respond to subsequent requests for comment about them.

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Elon Musk urges Americans take action to ‘kill’ Trump tax cut bill

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Tech titan Elon Musk ratcheted up his offensive against Donald Trump’s signature tax bill on Wednesday, urging that Americans contact their lawmakers to “KILL” the legislation.

“Call your Senator, Call your Congressman,” Musk wrote in a social media post. “Bankrupting America is NOT ok!”

The post came one day after Musk lashed out at the tax bill, describing it as a budget-busting “disgusting abomination” as Republican fiscal hawks stepped up criticism of the massive fiscal package. 

Trump hasn’t publicly responded to Musk’s comments, but the White House put out a statement Wednesday saying the legislation “unleashes an era of unprecedented economic growth.” 

And House Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters that Musk is “dead wrong” about the bill and that the tax cuts will pay for themselves through economic growth.

Musk’s public condemnation pits him against the president at a critical time as Trump is personally lobbying holdouts on the bill. His campaign against the legislation threatens to stiffen resistance and delay enactment of the tax cuts and debt ceiling increase. 

Musk has attacked the legislation days after leaving a temporary assignment leading the administration’s Department of Government Efficiency initiative to cut federal spending. The Tesla Inc. chief executive officer’s high-profile role in the Trump administration eroded his business brand and sales of his company’s electric vehicles plunged. 

The House-passed version of the tax and spending bill would add $2.4 trillion to U.S. budget deficits over the next decade, according to an estimate released Wednesday from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.

The CBO’s calculation reflects a $3.67 trillion decrease in expected revenues and a $1.25 trillion decline in spending over the decade through 2034, relative to baseline projections. The score doesn’t account for any potential boost to the economy from the bill, which Johnson and Trump argue would offset the revenue losses. 

Musk, the world’s richest man with a net worth of about $377 billion according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, has become a crucial financial backer of the Republican party. After making modest donations most years, Musk became the biggest U.S. political donor in 2024, giving more than $290 million.

Johnson said Musk had promised to help reelect Republicans just a day before savaging Trump’s bill. Musk did not respond to a request for comment. 

Most of Musk’s giving was aimed at electing Trump but he also supported congressional candidates. America PAC, the super political action committee that Musk largely funded, spent $18.5 million in 17 separate House races. Though that total pales in comparison to the roughly $255 million he spent backing Trump, the spending means a lot in a congressional election, where challengers on average raise less than $1 million.

Control of the House will likely be decided by the outcome of fewer than two dozen close races in the 2026 midterm elections. The GOP’s chances of holding their majority would suffer a major blow if Musk were to withdraw his financial support.

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Accounting

M&A Watch: PE fuels deals for CRI, UHY, Prosperity

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Three private equity-backed firms have made deals: Carr, Riggs & Ingram has expanded into East Texas by merging in Axley & Rode; UHY is continuing its expansion in St. Louis by adding Sabino & Co.; and Prosperity Partners moved into Vermont by adding Danaher, Attig & Plante. Meanwhile, Top 100 Firm Sensiba has acquired Australia-based cybersecurity audit and risk assurance firm AssuranceLab.

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