The Internal Revenue Service today issued a filing season alert, warning
taxpayers and tax professionals to watch out for identity theft at tax time,
and highlighted the crime as a recurring scam in the agency’s “Dirty
Dozen” series.
The Dirty Dozen is compiled annually by the IRS and lists a variety of
common scams taxpayers may encounter any time during the year. Many of these
con games peak during filing season as people prepare their tax returns or hire
tax professionals.
Tax-related Identity theft – with its related scams to steal personal and
financial data from taxpayers or data held by tax professionals – remains a top
item on the Dirty Dozen list. It remains an ongoing concern even though
progress is being made.
The IRS, state tax agencies and the tax industry have joined as the Security
Summit and enacted a series of safeguards that are showing results. In 2016,
the number of taxpayers reporting stolen identities on federal tax returns fell
by more than 50 percent, with nearly 275,000 fewer victims compared to a year
ago.
To further these efforts, the Security
Summit partners applied more safeguards in 2017 and continue to seek new
and expanded ways to reduce identity theft. Because of these successes,
criminals are devising more creative ways to steal personal information and
impersonate taxpayers.
“The Security Summit partnership continues to develop and strengthen tools
to stop fraudulent returns from getting into the tax system," said IRS
Commissioner John Koskinen. "We're calling on taxpayers to do everything
they can to protect their private information because criminals continue
looking for new and more sophisticated ways of beating the system. We also
encourage tax professionals and others in the private and non-profit sectors
with access to large amounts of sensitive information to watch out for identity
theft schemes."
Security Reminders for Taxpayers
The IRS and its partners remind taxpayers they can do their part to help in
this effort. Taxpayers and tax professionals should:
- Always use security
software with firewall and anti-virus protections. Make sure the security
software is always turned on and can automatically update. Encrypt
sensitive files such as tax records stored on the computer. Use strong
passwords.
- Learn to recognize and
avoid phishing emails, threatening phone calls and texts from thieves
posing as legitimate organizations such as banks, credit card companies
and government organizations, including the IRS. Do not click on links or
download attachments from unknown or suspicious emails.
- Protect personal data.
Don’t routinely carry a Social Security card, and make sure tax records
are secure. Treat personal information like cash; don’t leave it lying
around.
"Everyone should guard their personal information by protecting their
computers and using extreme caution when viewing emails or getting surprise
phone calls," Koskinen said. "We also encourage people to share this
information with their friends and family. We all know someone who is
challenged by technology, and some easy, common-sense steps could help protect
these people from identity theft."
The Security Summit launched a “Taxes.
Security. Together.” public awareness campaign aimed at taxpayers. This
campaign provided easy tips to taxpayers to protect themselves, including
video, tax tips and fact sheets to stay safe online. The Summit also initiated
a “Protect
Your Clients; Protect Yourself” campaign aimed at tax professionals who are
increasingly targeted by cybercriminals.
Tax-related identity theft occurs when someone uses a stolen Social Security
number or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) to file a tax return
claiming a fraudulent refund.
The IRS understands that undoing the damage caused by identity theft is a
frustrating and complex process for victims. While identity thieves steal
information from sources outside the tax system, the IRS is often the first to
inform a victim that identity theft has occurred. The IRS is working hard to
resolve identity theft cases as quickly as possible. For more information, see
the special identity
theft section on IRS.gov.
Related Items:
- IR-2016-144,
IRS, Security Summit Partners Expand Identity Theft Safeguards for 2017
Filing Season, Build on 2016 Successes
- FS-2015-23,
IRS, States and Industry Partners Provide Update on Collaborative Fight
Against Tax-Related Identity Theft
- IRS
Tax Tip: IRS, Partners Add New Safeguard for 2017; Ask for Your Help
to Combat Identity Theft
No comments:
Post a Comment