Last month, the IRS extended the usual April 15 tax filing deadline to July 15. While this brings relief to those facing financial hardship due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it also extends the window of opportunity for cybercriminals to attack accounting firms.
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Accounting Firm Vulnerability During Tax Season – Now Extended to July 15 Posted on: April 16, 2020 In: Data Privacy & Cybersecurity
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Tax Return Theft: Tips for Prevention and Response Posted on: January 06, 2020 In: Data Privacy & CybersecurityAs the Internal Revenue Service warned tax professionals in November, malicious actors are currently attempting to hack into tax preparers’ networks to steal 2020 tax return information. If you are a professional tax preparer, you are a target – regardless of the size of your business.
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Legislative Alert: Maryland Amends Data Breach Notification Law to Improve Incident Response Posted on: May 16, 2019 In: Data Privacy & CybersecurityOn April 30, 2019, Maryland enacted an amendment to Maryland’s Personal Information Protection Act (Md. Code Ann. § 14-3504), which becomes effective on October 1, 2019. The amendment was introduced in response to a rise in consumer complaints about identity theft.
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Identity Theft: The Crime of the New Millennium - Tips for Prevention and Recovery Posted on: January 17, 2019 In: Data Privacy & CybersecurityTwenty years ago, as I was working with the FBI and the Secret Service in prosecuting large identity theft rings – often associated with data breaches (although the term “data breach” had not yet entered our daily vernacular) – we created protocols to help consumers prevent identity theft and assist victims recovering from it.
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W-2 Image Exploits: With the Tax Season Come the Thieves Posted on: January 10, 2019 In: Data Privacy & CybersecurityIf you process or store Form W-2 Wage and Tax Statements, you are a target. The Form W-2 contains everything a malicious actor needs to file a false tax return with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and steal a refund. Because a W-2 contains a consumer Social Security number (SSN), it is highly valued on the dark web, and therefore highly sought after by thieves.
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