The IRS, state tax administrators, and companies in the tax industry made it very clear in 2015 that they are joining together to combat tax related fraud and identity theft during this upcoming tax season. This comes at a time when identity theft is rampant and scams happen all the time. Plus, with all of your financial information in one place during tax season, it’s easy to fall victim to a data breach.
As a result, the coalition will be implementing stronger authentication methods to make sure the taxpayer is the correct person. Software will report whether the return was filed from a trusted computer and how long it took, so they will be able to find automated robots. They have also agreed to share information with each other about suspicious data and returns in a timely manner, so the IRS will be aware of attempted attacks on computer systems. The measures taken to prevent fraud will occur mostly on the back-end, so users won’t notice much of a difference. However, there are plans to implement more protections on the front-end in coming years.
According to the IRS, “Many major system and process changes were made this summer and fall by the participants in order to be ready for the 2016 filing season.”
Source: CNNMoney
