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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…

I have the pleasure to present an advanced session on cybersecurity to tax preparers at the IRS’ National Tax Preparers Forum each year. The sessions are well attended, and I enjoy meeting attendees and talking about the craziness of new techniques threat actors are using to attack small businesses. This year was no exception.

One…

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…

This week, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued a Scam Alert to consumers notifying them that scammers are impersonating employees of the IRS promising a third Economic Impact Payment if they access forms through a link in an email or over the telephone.

The IRS warns consumers that governmental agencies, including the IRS, never call…

My phone was ringing this week with inquiries from clients, friends and acquaintances who received a Form 1099 in the mail for an unemployment claim that they did not file, asking what should they do.

The statistics on the successful filing of fraudulent unemployment claims throughout the country in 2020 are staggering. The pandemic created…

Tax identity theft continues to be a significant problem for taxpayers. Tax identity theft occurs when criminals use the personal information of individuals and file fraudulent tax returns before the taxpayer does, requesting a refund. When the real taxpayer files his or her tax return, the IRS kicks it back, explaining that it has already…

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…

Yesterday, I was honored to again have the opportunity to participate as a speaker at the Internal Revenue Service’s Nationwide Tax Forum 2019 in Washington, D.C. Through a generous grant provided by the American Coalition for Taxpayer Rights to the Pell Center of Salve Regina University, we are able to educate small- and medium-sized tax…