IRS warns against identity theft of American taxpayers amidst ongoing threats.

The IRS has launched an exciting summer campaign to equip tax professionals and the wider tax community with the necessary tools to defend against potential identity theft attempts.

On Tuesday, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced the start of its “Protect Your Clients: Protect Yourself” campaign, aimed at ensuring tax professionals remain vigilant against new and ongoing threats of tax-related identity theft. The IRS warned that tax professionals are prime targets for criminals who seek to gain unauthorized access to their computer systems and steal sensitive data about their clients. This stolen information is then used to file fraudulent tax returns or sold to other fraudsters.

Tax identity theft is a widespread issue that affects hundreds of thousands of American taxpayers. According to a report by the U.S. Treasury, the IRS identified almost 1.1 million potentially fraudulent tax returns for the 2023 filing season as of March 2. These potentially fake returns had a refund claim totaling around $6.3 billion.

The IRS recognizes tax professionals as a critical part of their defenses against identity thieves. IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel emphasizes the importance of staying current and keeping systems safe, especially for smaller practices.

To protect their clients, the IRS recommends tax professionals sign up individuals for identity protection PINs (IP PINs). An IP PIN is a six-digit number assigned to a taxpayer that prevents others from filing tax returns using their Social Security Number or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number.

Tax Summit Recommendations

The IRS advises tax professionals to create a security plan using the Written Information Security Plan (WISP) model developed by Security Summit. They also highlight the importance of being aware of common online hacking techniques like phishing, spear phishing, and whaling, which put sensitive information at risk.

Phishing occurs when malicious actors pretend to be reputable companies and send fraudulent emails to unsuspecting victims. Spear phishing targets specific individuals or groups, while whaling is a phishing technique that focuses on senior corporate executives. Tax professionals and taxpayers should familiarize themselves with these terms and be able to recognize the signs of identity theft.

The IRS, in collaboration with Security Summit, has made significant progress in reducing tax-related identity theft. In the 2015 filing season, there were 1.4 million confirmed identity theft returns, which decreased to 649,000 in 2018 and 56,831 in 2021. However, during the 2022 filing season, confirmed identity theft returns rose to 210,130.

The “Protect Your Clients: Protect Yourself” campaign is a joint effort between the IRS and Security Summit, which includes 42 state agencies and 20 industry offices. This annual campaign, now in its eighth year, aims to combat tax-related identity theft.

How to ‘Protect Yourself’

While the “Protect Your Clients: Protect Yourself” program is…