The IRS has confirmed that a recent cyber attack has been much more severe than previously reported. The attack penetrated the social security numbers and additional information for more than 330,000 taxpayers. The attack may have affected almost 390,000 US taxpayers. The hackers successfully accessed the accounts of 220,000 taxpayers, although existing systems successfully “defeated” 170,000 other attempts.
Oversight authorities in Congress and external watchdogs are very concerned about the extent of fraud that has resulted, and the implications this will have for hundreds of thousands of US taxpayers. If the hackers filed a fraudulent return using your social security number, it may not have been possible for you to file a return this year, and your standing with the IRS may be threatened.
Imagine, you are the subject of collection efforts by the IRS due to their own inability to protect your personal information from cyber attacks. More importantly, you may not be able to immediately access the funds you are owed, or clear up the fraudulent activity associated with your taxpayer ID for months, or longer.
You need help. If you have been contacted by the IRS for an audit, or are the subject of collections due to fraudulent activity on your account we invite you to contact the experienced tax attorneys at Allen Barron at 866-631-3470.
