Using a technique known as business email compromise (BEC) or business email spoofing (BES), fraudsters posing as authority figures send email to payroll personnel requesting copies of Forms W-2 for all employees. The initial email may be a friendly, “hi, are you working today,” exchange before the fraudster asks for the W-2s. In several reported cases, after the fraudsters acquired the workforce information, they immediately requested a wire transfer. The Form W-2 information is valuable because it contains the employee’s name, address, Social Security number, income and withheld taxes. Criminals can use that information to file fraudulent tax returns, or post it for sale on the Dark Net