Tax identity theft continues to be a significant problem for taxpayers. Tax identity theft occurs when criminals use the personal information of individuals and file fraudulent tax returns before the taxpayer does, requesting...more
With data breaches becoming a common event throughout the world, the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) has been undertaking a number of initiatives aimed at enhancing its security of taxpayer information and preventing the...more
The Security Summit, consisting of the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”), state tax agencies, and private-sector tax industry officials, is encouraging tax professionals during the 2019 summer season to take some time to...more
Last week was National Consumer Protection Week. In celebration of that, this post is devoted to protection from tax identity theft. ...more
As tax season winds on, the W-2 form scam has emerged as one of the most dangerous and common phishing email schemes during this time of year....more
In a recent Public Service Announcement dated February 21, 2018 entitled “Increase in W-2 Phishing Campaigns,” the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) issued another alert about an increase in phishing campaigns since the...more
As employers prepare to send employees their W-2s for last year by the end of the month, cybercriminals are preparing phishing emails under the guise of company executives requesting personal information on employees. The IRS...more
The IRS is putting an increased emphasis on identity theft protections for business returns as a result of an increase in fraudulent business tax returns in recent years. The IRS will be asking tax professionals to gather...more
HR and payroll professionals nationwide have been, and will continue to be, targeted with e-mails apparently sent by a senior executive but actually sent by scammers who ask for a prompt reply with the 2016 W-2s for all of...more
Tax returns and W-2s are information rich documents that contain the name and Social Security Number of an employee, as well as information concerning their salary and address, and personal behavior and characteristics (e.g.,...more
With tax season in full swing, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), state tax agencies, and tax industry groups recently renewed a warning about Form W-2 email spear-phishing scams. ...more
We have been repeatedly warning our clients and readers about the massive and successful W-2 phishing schemes where hackers impersonate the CEO or CFO and send emails to payroll and/or HR folks in companies requesting W-2...more
Tax season brings many headaches, but none as miserable as sophisticated scammer efforts to steal employee W-2 information. Using social engineering and modest technological tools, a “spear phishing” attack seeks to trick...more
The Internal Revenue Service issued an alert about an emerging phishing email scheme that purports to be from company executives and requests personal information on employees. The IRS has learned this scheme – part of...more
On October 20, 2015, the IRS, state taxing authorities, and leaders of the tax industry announced continued progress to expand and strengthen protection against identity theft in refund fraud for the 2016 tax season. “We are...more
I have spent some time over the past few weeks concentrating on steps individuals can take to protect their privacy and identity. But how do you protect your child’s identity?...more
Recently, there has been a spike in felons filing fraudulent income tax returns seeking refunds. The identity thief merely acquires a taxpayer’s name, address and Social Security Number, and files a return with a different...more
You are most likely aware of the recent news stories about the growing problem of identity theft in the tax area. The identity theft is usually only discovered when a person goes to file their return and discovers that a tax...more