Crooks have been using stolen Social Security numbers to try to get information that could be used to steal tax refunds, the Internal Revenue Service said.
Most of the automated attacks were aimed at generating E-file PINs, the IRS said. The PINs would then be used to generate phony returns or to waylay refunds.
The Social Security numbers were used in abot 464,000 automated attacks, of which about 101,000 successfully generated a PIN, the IRS said.
The agency, which is no stranger to hacking, said that no personal taxpayer information was disclosed in this incident and said that affected taxpayers would be notified by mail.
You may have mail
Consumers should note that the official notification will come via the U.S. Postal Service. Scam artists will soon be out in force, sending emails and calling taxpayers claiming to be the IRS.
Last May, the IRS admitted that hackers had stolen the personal data of as many as 334,000 taxpayers after initially saying only 100,000 had been affected.
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) says he will question IRS Commissioner John Koskinen about the attack at a hearing today, the Wall Street Journal reported.
“While it appears that the IRS was able to successfully block this attempted breach this time around, it’s past time we fundamentally rethink our approach in authenticating taxpayers and processing tax returns,” Mr. Hatch said, according to the Journal.
