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Hackers Identity Theft Internal Revenue Service

J.S. Held

How to Defend Against Identity Theft This Tax Season

J.S. Held on

In recent years, identity theft cases have surged, especially during tax season. According to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), in 2022, the federal agency identified and prevented USD 5.7 billion in tax-related fraud, and...more

Foley & Lardner LLP

National Public Data Hack Exposes Millions: Essential Steps to Safeguard Your Identity and Combat Fraud

Foley & Lardner LLP on

The recent massive data breach at National Public Data (NPD), a background check company, has potentially compromised the personal information of millions, if not billions, of individuals, including their Social Security...more

Snell & Wilmer

Taxpayer Cybersecurity – Step 5: Create a Data Theft Recovery Plan

Snell & Wilmer on

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

Snell & Wilmer

Taxpayer Cybersecurity – Step 4: Recognize Identity Theft

Snell & Wilmer on

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

Bass, Berry & Sims PLC

Privacy Perils: The Least Wonderful Time of the Year

January 29 was the first day that tax returns could be filed for tax year 2017. The IRS expects approximately 90% of returns this year to be filed electronically, and overall 70% of taxpayers should receive a tax refund,...more

Snell & Wilmer

Celebrate National Tax Security Awareness Week!

Snell & Wilmer on

While it may be better known as “Cyber Monday”, today also marks the start of the second annual National Tax Security Awareness Week (November 27 to December 1). The Internal Revenue Service, state tax agencies and the tax...more

Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler LLP

Another Bumpy Week for Equifax: Virus Hits Website, IRS Suspends Contract and Hacked UK Residents Notified

It was another chaotic week for Equifax Inc., still scrambling to stem the torrent of bad news after its massive data breach last month that has potentially affected more than half of the U.S.’s adult population....more

Foley Hoag LLP - Security, Privacy and the...

Stolen Tax Returns? Virginia Seeks a Solution.

Did someone steal your tax return? You are not alone. Indeed, the rise in tax-related identity theft has been well documented. In 2015, the FTC reported a 50% increase in identity theft complaints. A primary cause for...more

Robinson+Cole Data Privacy + Security Insider

IRS to Notify 100,000 Taxpayers That Their Information May Have Been Obtained Through Misuse of FAFSA Retrieval Tool

On Thursday, Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) Commissioner John Koskinen testified that the personal data of up to a 100,000 taxpayers could have been compromised as a result of criminal use of the Free Application for...more

Littler

It's W-2 Phishing Season: How to Stop, and Respond to, Tax-Related Identity Fraud Aimed at Your Organization's Employees

Littler on

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

Robinson+Cole Data Privacy + Security Insider

W2 Phishing Scam Hits Citizens Memorial Hospital

We continue to see all industries hit with W2 phishing scams, including the health care industry. Citizens Memorial Hospital, located in Bolivar, Missouri, was hit with the scam when one of its employees believed that an...more

Robinson+Cole Data Privacy + Security Insider

IRS Issues Warning of “Dangerous W2 Phishing Scam”

We always see a surge in W2 email phishing schemes this time of year, as it is tax time, and many individuals are filing their tax returns in order to get a quick refund. So are criminals and cyber-hackers. ...more

Robinson+Cole Data Privacy + Security Insider

Privacy Tip #51 – Check Up on Your Tax Preparer’s Data Security Measures

We have written before about the ability of hackers to file false tax returns to get fraudulent refunds by using the IRS website, and how hundreds of thousands of Americans have become victims of tax fraud. The IRS...more

Robinson+Cole Data Privacy + Security Insider

Milwaukee Bucks become latest victim to w-2 phishing scheme

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

Robinson+Cole Data Privacy + Security Insider

Privacy Tip #28 – What do you do if you are a victim of IRS tax fraud?

It’s tax season. The dreaded April 15 federal tax filing deadline is looming. You try to be diligent, and you file your tax return early, hoping to get an early refund. But when you try to e-file your return, it gets rejected...more

BakerHostetler

Don’t Get Phished! Hackers Pose as CEOs to Steal Tax Information from HR and Payroll Professionals at Healthcare Organizations

BakerHostetler on

Every tax season is plagued with scams to defraud individuals and companies for money from tax returns. However, this year has started off with a bang and this means that the healthcare industry has another reason to worry....more

Robinson+Cole Data Privacy + Security Insider

Tax season may bring more breaches; new victim, TaxAct

This tax season, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has been working closely with big tax preparation vendors and chains to improve the security this year and safeguard against widespread identity theft. The IRS is now...more

King & Spalding

Senate Legislation Seeks To Protect Taxpayer Data In Response To IRS Data Breach

King & Spalding on

On September 11, 2015, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-UT) and Ranking Member Ron Wyden (D-OR) introduced a bill aimed at combating identity theft and tax rebate fraud. The legislation comes as the Internal...more

Robinson+Cole Data Privacy + Security Insider

32 alleged IRS hackers arrested

The federal government has arrested 32 members of the Insane Crip gang and charged them with 283 counts of criminal conspiracy, 299 counts of identity theft, 226 counts of grand theft and 58 counts of attempted theft through...more

Robinson+Cole Data Privacy + Security Insider

IRS admits 334,000 victims of fraudulent tax refunds due to security flaws on website

Not only did the IRS lose a flash drive with 12,000 school worker’s Social Security numbers on it in Texas, it admitted on August 17th that its initial estimate that 110,000 taxpayers’ personal information was used to file...more

Robinson+Cole Data Privacy + Security Insider

IRS declares identity protection services not taxable

The IRS announced last week that the value of identity theft protection services are not taxable and do not have to be included in gross income calculations for tax purposes. Identity theft continues to be the number one...more

Lowndes

IRS Admits Security Breach More Extensive

Lowndes on

Earlier this year, the IRS announced that identity thieves had been able to hack one of its computer databases and gain access to extremely sensitive data.  Back then, the IRS indicated that about 225,000 households had been...more

Ervin Cohen & Jessup LLP

Taxpayer Identity Theft

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

King & Spalding

Internal Revenue Service Announces Creation Of A Criminal Investigative Team To Focus On Cyber Tax Fraud

King & Spalding on

A May 5, 2015 report detailed that the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) has created a new cybercrime investigation team. Based in Washington, D.C., and made up of about a dozen specially-trained agents, the unit will focus...more

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