{"id":1761,"date":"2015-12-03T10:09:10","date_gmt":"2015-12-03T16:09:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/taxprocenter.proconnect.intuit.com\/?p=1761"},"modified":"2020-09-22T11:00:25","modified_gmt":"2020-09-22T16:00:25","slug":"irs-states-and-tax-prep-companies-launch-security-awareness-campaign-for-taxpayers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/accountants.intuit.com\/taxprocenter\/tax-law-and-news\/irs-states-and-tax-prep-companies-launch-security-awareness-campaign-for-taxpayers\/","title":{"rendered":"IRS, States and Tax Prep Companies Launch Security Awareness Campaign for Taxpayers"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Internal Revenue Service is beginning the next round of its battle against tax-related identity theft by debuting a public awareness campaign to persuade more taxpayers to safeguard their personal information, in conjunction with tax preparation companies and state tax authorities.<\/span><\/p>\n

The new public awareness campaign\u2014known as \u201cTaxes. Security. Together.\u201d\u2014was announced Thursday during a meeting of the Security Summit, an effort the IRS organized earlier this year, bringing together state tax officials with major tax prep chains and tax software vendors. The campaign will provide important tips and reminders by email, Tax Tips and YouTube videos to taxpayers to keep their personal information safe.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a powerful partnership,\u201d said IRS commissioner John Koskinen. \u201cWe\u2019ve made a great deal of progress for the upcoming tax season, and it shows just how much we can accomplish working together. But to keep making progress, there is another partner we need to bring on board, and that\u2019s the taxpaying public.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The education campaign will complement the expanded series of protections the IRS, states and tax industry are putting in place for the start of the 2016 filing season to address tax-related identity theft.<\/span><\/p>\n

The campaign will continue through the April tax deadline. Besides emails and videos, the joint consumer campaign includes local events across the country. Several IRS publications have been added or updated to help taxpayers and tax professionals. The information will also be shared across IRS.gov, state web sites and platforms used by the tax software community and others in the tax community.<\/span><\/p>\n

“The governments and industry are taking new steps to protect taxpayers,\u201d said David Sullivan, tax administrator for the Rhode Island Division of Taxation and immediate past president of the Federation of Tax Administrators. \u201cTo build on this even further, we are joining forces to share important information across our websites\u2014whether it’s at the state level, in the tax industry or at the IRS. This is an unprecedented collaborative effort for tax administration.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Increasingly sophisticated identity thieves have gained access to extensive amounts of personal and financial data, which they buy and sell in illicit markets. They use this data to file fraudulent tax returns using victims\u2019 names and Social Security numbers. While the IRS, states and tax industry are taking new steps to toughen their systems to protect taxpayers, there are also steps taxpayers can take on their own.<\/span><\/p>\n

“People handle some of their most sensitive personal and financial information when they prepare their taxes on their home computer,\u201d said Bernie McKay, an executive vice president at Intuit, one of more than 20 members of the tax industry participating in the Summit process. \u201cBut when they sit down, we want to help make sure they are preparing their taxes on a device that is secure. Tax time is two months away, but it’s not too early for people to make sure they are doing the right things to protect themselves.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The IRS, states and tax industry are urging the public to take active steps to protect themselves. The partners are encouraging people to:<\/span><\/p>\n