Recently the IRS together with state tax agencies and the nation’s tax preparers warned that criminals are focusing their cyber theft crimes on tax professionals. Anyone that is a potential target of these cybercriminals should respond appropriately to protect clients from identity theft.
With this issuance of caution, the IRS provided new information containing safeguards to help tax professionals protect clients’ data. Known as the Protect Your Clients; Protect Yourself campaign, it’s an expansion of the Security Summit’s 2015 Taxes. Security. Together program aimed at increasing public awareness for using security software, creating stronger passwords and avoiding phishing emails.
The Security Summit consists of the IRS, state tax agencies and the private-sector tax industry working jointly to protect taxpayers from tax-related identity theft. In late June of 2016, Summit partners announced their 2017 initiatives to combat stolen identity refund fraud. The Protect Your Clients campaign is scheduled to continue through the beginning of the 2017 tax filing season. During this time, the IRS will provide a series of fact sheets and tips on security, scams and identity theft prevention measures specifically formulated for tax professionals.
According to IRS leadership, there are 700,000 tax preparers in the country. While many of them take good security precautions, they are the target of cybercriminals who continue to evolve and use new technology and scams. Security is the highest priority as tax preparers handle large volumes of sensitive personal and financial information.
The IRS publishes a fact sheet (Fact Sheet 2016-23) entitled Tax Professionals: Protect Your Clients; Protect Yourself from Identity Theft, which urges preparers to follow the security recommendations found in Publication 4557, Safeguarding Taxpayer Data. Because we take the utmost precautions to protect our clients’ sensitive, personal information, the tax professionals at the Thorgood Law Firm have earned the confidence and trust of our clients.
If you live in the New York or the Tri-State area and have any questions about any tax-related issues, call THE TAX EXPERTS at the Thorgood Law Firm www.thorgoodlaw.com. For a FREE consultation call 212-490-0704.
