March compresses decision-making.
Accounting teams are buried. Approvals move faster. Requests come in with urgency. People scan instead of read.
That is why tax season reliably drives more phishing attempts. Researchers often observe a meaningful spike in tax-themed scam emails, with March showing roughly a 28% increase compared to quieter months.
This is not about sophisticated attackers. It is about predictable pressure inside the business. When teams are rushed, verification gets skipped. That is how liability events start.
What these attacks look like in real life
Most tax-season scams are designed to look like normal business.
Common examples:
- “Resend the W-2s, something did not come through.”
- “Our bank details changed. Update them here.”
- “Signature needed today on this document.”
- “I am traveling. I need you to handle this now.”
None of these sound like a scam in March. They sound like work. That is the point.
The governance issue behind the inbox
The real vulnerability is not the email. It is the decision path.
During busy periods, organizations quietly shift into “speed mode.” That is when:
- Sensitive data moves with less scrutiny
- Payment changes get accepted without independent confirmation
- People assume the sender is legitimate because the request looks familiar
Reducing risk here is about operational discipline and defensible controls, not tools.
Four habits that demonstrate reasonable care
You do not need a security program overhaul to reduce tax-season exposure. You need clear expectations for high-risk actions.
- Verify payment changes by phone
If a vendor’s banking details “changed,” do not reply to the email. Call a trusted number already on file and confirm.
- Slow down requests for sensitive information
Urgency should trigger a pause. If someone requests W-2s, tax documents, or financial files immediately, verify first.
- Confirm urgent requests through a second channel
If a message claims urgency, verify using a second method, such as a call, text, or internal message. Real urgency can handle a short check.
- Give a five-minute heads-up to your team
Tell your team that March is prime time for scams and that it is acceptable to slow down and ask questions. That permission reduces bad decisions.
The takeaway
Tax season is stressful enough without adding “fraud event” to the month.
These attacks succeed because they are well-timed and because teams are moving fast.
If your organization wants to reduce exposure, the most effective move is to define what must be verified, by whom, and how. That is governance. That is reasonable care. That is defensibility.
If you want a short, executive-level sanity check of your approval paths for payments and sensitive data during busy periods, RTB can help you confirm controls, clarify accountability, and document a defensible process.
