2018 Anticipated Fraud Activity

The Internal Revenue Service is warning that the cybercriminals are already at work as the current tax season approaches. These fraudsters are using a new round of emails posing as potential clients or even the IRS to trick tax practitioners and their clients into disclosing sensitive personal tax information.
Be wary of communicating solely through email with potential or existing prepares or your new tax practitioner. These thieves have stolen identity data from thousands of taxpayers including names, addresses, social security numbers and email addresses.
In the case of identity theft, you will need to file an affidavit with your paper filed return and the IRS will assign to you a new PIN (personal identification number for future filing of your returns.
Both taxpayers and tax practitioners have become victims of this form of identity theft.
Be aware, know who you are dealing with and make sure you are using a reputable tax firm with a history in the profession.

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