And of course phishers frequently impersonate tax preparation firms in a bid to steal credentials.
Victims also can see their tax accounts hijacked if crooks assume control over their inboxes as well, since tax preparation services - like most sites - allow users to reset their passwords by requesting a password reset link via email (see my Value of a Hacked Email Account graphic for additional examples like this). Typically, the usernames and passwords for consumer accounts at these services are obtained via password-stealing malware that infects end-user PCs (see my Value of a Hacked PC graphic for more such examples.) Cyber thieves have long sought stolen credentials for hijacked tax preparation accounts at TurboTax, H&R Block and related services. This is hardly a new problem, but I have no doubt we are seeing even more phony tax refund claims than last year (in which my own taxes were filed fraudulently). This action does not affect the filing of federal income tax returns, and is limited to those states that require residents to file returns.” They do not need to take further action at this time.
Customers who have already filed their state tax returns using Intuit software during this temporary pause will have their returns transmitted as soon as possible. “Intuit will be working with the states today to begin turning transmissions back on. 5, of temporarily pausing its transmission of state e-filing tax returns,” the company’s statement continued. “As it worked with state governments to assess and resolve the recent issues, Intuit took the precautionary step Thursday, Feb. Intuit said a third-party security audit turned up no signs of a security breach with the company, and that the information used to file fraudulent returns appears to have been obtained from other sources outside the tax preparation process. “During this tax season, Intuit and some states have seen an increase in suspicious filings and attempts by criminals to use stolen identity information to file fraudulent state tax returns and claim tax refunds,” the company said in a statement. said Thursday that it is temporarily suspending the transmission of state e-filed tax returns in response to a surge in complaints from consumers who logged into their TurboTax accounts only to find crooks had already claimed a refund in their name.