The IRS has provided information regarding using W-2 information as an approach for scamming for identity theft as the example above shows. The scam could be something like what appears to be a company executive requesting a payroll employee to provide all employees’ W-2s. The target of these scams have been businesses of all sizes, public schools, universities and Indian tribes.
If you, as an employer or an individual has been already victimized, the IRS asks that you email them at dataloss@irs.gov and provide a POC (point of contact) for their investigation.
If you receive an email that is requesting W-2s, you can forward those emails (with full headers) to Phishing@irs.gov and use the subject line: W2 Scam.
All tax related scams and how to work with the IRS on these issues can be found at https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/tax-scams-consumer-alerts.