For the second year, the Internal Revenue
Service, state tax agencies and the tax industry will host National Tax
Security Awareness Week to encourage both individual and business taxpayers to
take additional steps to protect their tax data and identities in advance of
the 2018 filing season.
Starting Monday, Nov. 27, National Tax Security
Awareness Week will focus daily on one issue that poses a threat to individuals
and businesses and offer steps they may take to better protect themselves from
cybercriminals.
The IRS, state tax agencies and the tax
industry, partners in the Security Summit, have enacted a series of defenses in
recent years that have made significant inroads into tax-related identity
theft. While the Summit partners continue to improve defenses, they also
recognize that they need help from taxpayers, tax preparers and businesses to
continue progress against identity theft.
Summit partners and other consumer, business
and community groups will be hosting a series of more than 20 events across the
country to raise awareness during National Tax Security Awareness Week. This is
especially timely as the holiday season brings out not only online shoppers but
online thieves seeking to trick people into disclosing sensitive information
that could be used to help file fraudulent tax returns.
The week also comes amid continuing disclosures
that more than 145 million Americans have had their names, addresses and Social
Security numbers stolen from a variety of places. No one yet knows how
cybercriminals will use this data or try to make money from it.
The IRS and states have put many new defenses
in place to help protect taxpayers from identity theft. The new IRS protections
have worked well to protect taxpayers, and some key indicators of identity
theft on tax returns have dropped by around two-thirds since 2015.
These protections are especially helpful if
criminals only have names, addresses and SSNs – which was the information stolen
in recent incidents. However, there are continuing concerns that cybercriminals
will try to build on this basic information by trying to obtain more specific
financial details from taxpayers and tax professionals to help them file
fraudulent tax returns.
During the upcoming 2018 filing season, the IRS
urges tax professionals, businesses and others to join with the Security Summit
partners in sharing the security information through organizations, customers
and partners.
During National Tax Security Awareness Week,
people will learn about the basic steps necessary to protect themselves and
their tax data online, such as using security software, strong passwords and
data encryption. They will learn what steps they should take if they are a data
breach victim, such as placing a freeze on their credit accounts and the signs
of tax-related identity theft.
They will learn how cybercriminals use phishing
emails to bait them into disclosing information. Employers will be warned about
the dangerous W-2 scam that has made identity theft victims of thousands of
employees. Finally, Summit partners will remind small businesses that they,
too, are subject to identity theft and should take steps to protect themselves.
There are three key steps the Summit partners
urge people to take to protect tax and financial information:
- 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.
- Always use security software with firewall and anti-virus
protections. Make sure the security software is always turned on and will
automatically update. Encrypt sensitive files such as tax records stored
on computers. Use strong passwords.
- Protect personal data. Use strong, unique passwords
for each online account. Don’t routinely carry Social Security cards, and
make sure tax records are secure. Treat personal information like cash;
don’t leave it lying around.
The IRS, state tax agencies and the tax industry
came together in 2015 to join forces in their fight against tax-related
identity theft. Learn more about their efforts and their progress at Security Summit on IRS.gov.
Increasing public awareness about people’s role
in protecting their own data is a critical part of the Security Summit efforts.
Partners launched the “Taxes. Security. Together” awareness campaign in
the fall of 2015.
The partners followed up with “Protect Your Clients; Protect Yourself” campaign aimed at tax professionals. Partners
also held a 10-week “Don’t Take the Bait” awareness effort, warning tax professionals of
the most common data breach scams targeting their offices and taxpayer data.
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