IRS: Cyberattacks more extensive than imagined

The IRS presumes that this personal information was stolen from other sources.

In a press release issued on August 17, the IRS admitted that roughly 330,000 accounts were hacked, while the ID thieves targeted another 280,000.

The women, Becky Welborn of Dripping Springs and Wendy Windrich of Conroe, are seeking to represent anyone whose information was stolen after using the IRS “Get Transcript” service that allow taxpayers to get information on their own filings. With confidential tax data and Social Security information, identity thieves could apply for many types of loans in the victims’ names. The IRS can also be providing to enroll potential victims in a program that assigns them particular ID numbers that they need to use to file their tax returns.

Richard McCune is available to talk with reporters about the case and how it could affect all taxpayers and the IRS going forward.

The Internal Revenue Service must answer in court for a data breach in which hackers gained access to personal identifying data belonging to at least 330,000 people.

“Once legitimate credentials are obtained, it’s almost impossible to distinguish between the good guys and the bad guys, especially if the attackers are patient and disciplined”, Hill said. They have been profitable in getting info from about 334,000 taxpayers.

At the same hearing, panel Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) told IRS Commissioner John A. Koskinen, who is also named as a defendant in the suit, that his agency “failed” these taxpayers “and their families, [who] must now begin the long and hard process of repairing their reputations”. “The agency should act swiftly to alleviate the damage for all those affected”. The Office of Personnel Management announced earlier this year that hackers had stolen sensitive information on 4.2 million people. This included information like Social Security Numbers, dates of birth, and street address, all of which were used as authenticators for logging into the system.

Rep. Peter Roskam, R-Ill., said, “Today’s revelation that the IRS didn’t fully understand this security breach for months is not confidence-inspiring”. Roskam chairs a Home subcommittee that oversees the IRS.

The IRS said Monday that thieves started targeting the website in November. The website was shut down in May.

“It will be interesting to see if the special identify protection PIN provided by the IRS to affected taxpayers will be enough to stop more fraudulent returns in the future”. But in May, officials said IRS investigators believe the identity thieves are part of a sophisticated criminal operation based in Russian Federation.

In 2012, the IRS despatched a complete of 655 tax refunds to a single handle in Lithuania, and 343 refunds went to a lone handle in Shanghai, based on a report by the company’s inspector basic. The IRS has since added safeguards to prevent similar schemes, but the criminals are innovating as well.

The IRS estimates it paid out $5.eight billion in fraudulent refunds to id thieves in 2013.