Every tax professional in the United States — whether a member of a major accounting firm or an owner of a one-person storefront — is a potential target for highly sophisticated, well-funded and technologically adept cybercriminals around the world. Their objective: to steal your clients’ data so they can file fraudulent tax returns that better impersonate their victims and are harder to detect. Their tactics: using email, the phone or other means to trick you into giving up computer passwords, e-Services passwords, to steal your EFINs or CAF numbers or even to take remote control of your entire computer system. Protecting client data also is the law. Federal Trade Commission regulations require professional tax preparers to create and enact security plans to protect client data. Review IRS Publication 4557, Safeguarding Taxpayer DataPDF, for details and security recommendations. Also, see IRS Publication 5293, Data Theft Resource Guide for Tax ProfessionalsPDF, for a roundup of IRS.gov information. No one can fight this crime alone. It takes all of us, working together. That is why the Security Summit — the unprecedented partnership between the IRS, state tax agencies, and the private-sector tax industry — came together to form a united and coordinated front against this common enemy. And, that’s why the Summit partners — through the “Protect Your Clients, Protect Yourself” awareness campaign — are asking tax professionals nationwide to join this effort. Stay connected To stay up to date on the latest threats and scams, bookmark and follow this page. You also should register for e-News for Tax Professionals or, if you are an e-Services user, register for Quick Alerts to stay atop latest news and threats. Follow us on social media at Twitter.com/IRStaxpros, Twitter.com/IRSNews and Facebook.com/IRStaxpros. Events and campaigns Protect Your Clients; Protect Yourself — Summer 2022 Dirty Dozen Tax Scams Taxes. Security. Together. Prior Year Campaigns National Tax Security Awareness Week 2021, November 29-December 3, 2021 National Tax Security Awareness Week 2020, November 30-December 4, 2020 Working Virtually: Protecting Tax Data at Home and at Work, Summer 2020 National Tax Security Awareness Wee 2021, December 2-6, 2019 Tax Security 2.0 – The “Taxes-Security-Together” Checklist, Summer 2019 IRS Security Awareness Tax Tips News Releases and Scam Alerts 2022 IR-2022-151, Security Summit: Tax pros can help clients battle identity theft risk IR-2022-147, Security Summit releases new data security plan to help tax professionals; new WISP simplifies complex area IR-2022-144, Security Summit: Tell-tale signs of identity theft tax pros should watch for IR-2022-143, Security Summit warns tax pros of evolving email and cloud-based schemes to steal taxpayer data IR-2022-140, Security Summit: Identity Protection PINs provide an important defense against tax-related identity theft IR-2022-135, IRS Security Summit renews warnings for tax pros to guard against identity theft amid continued threats 2021 IR-2021-144, IRS wraps up its 2021 "Dirty Dozen" scams list with warning about promoted abusive arrangements IR-2021-137, IRS urges caution with email, social media and phones as part of "Dirty Dozen" series IR-2021-34, IRS, Summit partners issue urgent EFIN scam alert to tax professionals IR-2021-24, IRS offers guidance to taxpayers on identity theft involving unemployment benefits 2020 IR-2020-71, IRS, Security Summit partners warn tax professionals on scams, urge additional security measures to protect taxpayer data IR-2020-65, Follow IRS on social media, sign up for e-News subscriptions for urgent updates on COVID-19, scams and economic impact payment information IR-2020-52, Get up-to-date information including the annual IRS "Dirty Dozen" with IRS e-News Subscriptions IR-2020-32, IRS urges tax professionals, taxpayers to protect tax software accounts with multi-factor authentication IR-2020-27, IRS launches Identity Theft Central IR-2020-17, IRS: Don’t be victim to "ghost" tax return preparers 2019 IR-2019-145, Security Summit warns of new IRS impersonation email scam; reminds taxpayers the IRS does not send unsolicited emails IR-2019-101, IRS takes additional steps to protect taxpayer data; plans to end faxing and third-party mailings of certain tax transcripts IR-2019-66, IRS, Security Summit partners mark significant progress against identity theft; key taxpayer protection trends continue IR-2019-58, IRS revises EIN application process; seeks to enhance security IR-2019-50, IRS announces arrests and indictments after two-week campaign to fight refund fraud and identity theft IR-2019-30, Identity theft remains on IRS’ "Dirty Dozen" list despite progress IR-2019-26, IRS kicks off annual list of most prevalent tax scams: Agency warns taxpayers of pervasive phishing schemes in its ‘Dirty Dozen’ campaign Fact Sheets FS-2022-34, Security Summit partners urge tax pros to create plan for data safety Videos IRS Tax Pro Playlist, YouTube IRS Identity Theft Playlist, YouTube Publications Publication 4557, Safeguarding Taxpayer Data PDF Publication 5293, Data Theft Resource Guide for Tax ProfessionalsPDF NIST Publication NISTIR 7621, Small Business Information Security – The Fundamentals PDF Publication 4524, Security Awareness for TaxpayersPDF Related Resources Data Theft Information for Tax Professionals – What to do if you become a victim Identity Theft Information for Tax Professionals – How to Protect Yourself and Clients Identity Theft Central Taxes. Security. Together. We all have a role to play in protecting your data Security Summit Security Summit We all have a role. Learn more
