The IRS and its Security Summit partners urged tax professionals to take additional security steps immediately to protect taxpayer data as more practitioners telework and security risks increase. The IRS, state tax agencies and the nation’s tax industry continue to see an upswing in data thefts from tax professionals as cybercriminals try to take advantage of COVID-19 and Economic Impact Payments to create new scams.

“Identity thieves view the pandemic as a chance to exploit tax professionals as well as taxpayers,” said IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig. “They are using every trick of their criminal trade to con people as well as steal valuable personal and financial information to help enable tax-related identity theft. In many ways, tax pros are one of the first lines of defense. We urge the entire tax community to take additional steps and protect their sensitive data.”

For more information on cybersecurity, please review the security measures outlined in Publication 4557, Safeguarding Taxpayer Data.