It’s March in Toronto.
Your team is buried. Your inbox is relentless.
Clients are emailing “just one more thing” at 9:42 p.m.
Everyone’s head is down. It’s survival mode.
And here’s the uncomfortable part:
Hackers know exactly what month it is.
Security researchers consistently see a spike in phishing attacks during tax season. March alone brings roughly a 28% increase in tax-themed scam emails
compared to slower months.
That’s not coincidence.
That’s timing.
Criminals don’t need new tricks in March.
They just need you to be busy.
The Stressed Supply Chain
Here’s what most firm owners miss.
Hackers aren’t only targeting accounting firms.
They’re targeting the chaos around them.
When tax season hits:
- Clients rush to send sensitive documents
- Staff shortcut normal verification steps
- “Just send me the file” replaces procedure
- Payment changes get approved without a second look
The whole ecosystem speeds up.
And speed is where mistakes happen.
Calm, methodical firms are hard to breach.
Overloaded ones? Much easier.
March is overloaded.
What These Attacks Actually Look Like
This isn’t a dramatic Hollywood breach.
It’s subtle.
It’s an email that looks exactly like everything else in your inbox.
- “Can you resend the T4s? They didn’t come through.”
- “We’ve updated our banking info — please use this new account.”
- “DocuSign: Tax document requires signature today.”
- “I’m traveling. I need this handled immediately.”
None of these scream “SCAM.”
They feel like normal March.
That’s why they work.
Why Smart, Responsible People Still Get Caught
This isn’t about carelessness.
It’s about being human.
When deadlines are tight and notifications are constant, people don’t read — they scan.
They assume.
They react.
Attackers design messages for exactly that state of mind.
They don’t need you reckless.
They need you rushed.
And in March? Almost everyone is.
Four Simple Ways Not to Be the Easy Target
You don’t need a cybersecurity degree.
You need a few deliberate habits — especially during busy season.
- Verify payment changes by phone
If a vendor emails new banking details, don’t reply.
Call a number you already trust and confirm it verbally.
This one habit alone prevents some of the most expensive scams businesses face.
- Treat urgency as a pause button
If someone wants tax documents, payroll data, or financial files “right now,” slow down.
Urgency should trigger verification — not speed.
A legitimate sender won’t mind a quick confirmation.
A scammer will.
- Use a second channel for “urgent” requests
If your “CEO” emails asking for something unusual, confirm it another way.
Quick call. Teams message. Text.
Real urgency survives a two-minute check.
Fake urgency doesn’t.
- Give your team permission to slow down
This week, tell your staff something simple:
“Tax season is prime time for scams. It’s okay to double-check.”
That small permission shift matters more than you think.
Because when people feel safe asking questions, they catch things.
The Real Takeaway
The attacks that show up in March aren’t necessarily brilliant.
They’re well-timed.
They rely on:
- Fatigue
- Assumptions
- Pressure
- The desire to just get through the week
You don’t need to overhaul your entire IT environment to reduce risk.
You need to slow down when it matters.
Verify when something feels urgent.
And create space for your team to question things that feel slightly off.
Often, that’s enough to stop the damage before it starts.
A Quick Busy-Season Sanity Check
If your firm already has strong habits and guardrails in place, that’s great.
But if tax season tends to push everyone into reactive mode — or you’re not entirely sure how urgent requests get handled under pressure — it may be worth a quick check.
A 10-minute discovery call isn’t about scare tactics.
It’s about answering one simple question:
Are small gaps during busy season creating bigger risks than you realize?
No pressure. No doom-and-gloom slideshow.
Just clarity.
And if this doesn’t sound like your firm, forward it to the partner who still approves banking changes straight from email.
