The information you provide to your tax preparer is as sensitive as it gets. The assumption is that the tax preparation company is only using your data to prepare your taxes. In an enforcement action against Beneficial Corp., the FTC alleged that the company was engaged in unfair and deceptive practices by “using information collected
Internal Revenue Service
Privacy Tip #318 – IRS Abandons Use of Facial Recognition for New Accounts
The Internal Revenue Service announced in November 2021 that it would use facial recognition technology offered by ID.me to authenticate taxpayers before using any online services the IRS provides, including viewing accounts, making online payments, or updating personal information. The IRS expected taxpayers to create an ID.me account no later than summer of 2022 by…
Privacy Tip #279 – IRS Imposters Targeting Students and Faculty
How many times can we say that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) will NOT email or telephone you? We will say it again. If you receive a telephone call, email or text from someone saying they are from the IRS, it is A SCAM. It’s that simple. If you don’t believe me, check out…
Privacy Tip #203 – Cryptocurrency Woes
As cryptocurrency becomes more popular with investors, CipherTrace recently issued its Q2 2019 Cryptocurrency Anti-Money Laundering Report, which finds that “[O]utright thefts as well as scams and other misappropriation of funds from cryptocurrency users and exchanges continued apace, netting criminals and fraudsters approximately $4.26 billion in aggregate for 2019.” Yikes—that’s billion with a “b”.
The…
IRS Warns of Phishing Email Spoofing IRS and FBI
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has issued a warning alerting the public to a new email phishing scam that looks like a joint notice from the IRS and FBI about new tax laws.
The phishing email uses the emblems of both agencies, and asks recipients to download an FBI questionnaire related to “changes of tax…
Federal Tax Treatment of Employer-Provided Identity Protection Services
In the wake of several recent high-profile security breaches, employers are increasingly viewing identity theft protection as an essential employee benefit for employees. According to Willis Towers Watson’s 2016 voluntary benefits and services (VBS) survey, identity theft protection, offered by 35 percent of employers in 2015, could double to nearly 70 percent by 2018. Recognizing the changing needs of the workforce, employer-provided identity theft protection typically includes some form of coverage for financial losses (which can include lost wages) as well as case management services for victims of identity theft.
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FAFSA Data Retrieval Tool Remains Down Over Security Concerns
Last week, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and Federal Student Aid (FSA) announced that the Data Retrieval Tool (DRT) on fafsa.gov and StudentLoans.gov will be unavailable until extra security protections could be added. Since 2010, students have been able to use the DRT to transfer tax data directly into the Free Application for Federal Student…
IRS Files Petition to Enforce Summons Issued to Virtual Currency Company
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) obtained authorization from a California federal court last November to serve a John Doe summons on the virtual currency firm Coinbase in order to obtain customer information to determine whether customers were using virtual currency to avoid paying income taxes.
Although the summons was issued in December, Coinbase has not…
Privacy Tip #71 – It’s Tax Time and the Thieves are Out in Droves
Just when I thought everyone knew about the continued W2 schemes, where phishing emails are used to get company employees’ W2 forms so the thief can file a false tax return and get a refund, several additional clients have been hit with the scheme and the thieves were successful.
Just like after holiday sales in…
Privacy Tip #66 – False IRS Phone Scams Defraud Victims of More than $50 Million
We have previously warned consumers about IRS phone scams that defraud consumers.
Basically, the fraudsters call unsuspecting victims over the telephone impersonating an IRS official, and intimidate the recipient of the call to believe that they have an outstanding tax liability and telling them that if they don’t pay up, they will be arrested and…