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The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is conducting Nationwide Tax Forums sponsored by the Security Summit in five different cities this summer. The four remaining forums are July 30 in Orlando, August 13 in Baltimore, August 20 in Dallas and September 10 in San Diego.
The registration forms and deadlines are available on IRS.gov. The IRS notes that taxpayers and professional advisors are welcome to attend the forums, but it is expected that they will sell out.
The forums are designed to highlight the latest strategies of fraudsters. There is a a specific focus on protecting tax preparers and their clients. The latest and most successful scams will be covered. Some of the scams to be aware of include:
The IRS warns professionals to be on the lookout for red flags or warning signs. If you receive an unexpected email or text that claims to come from a colleague, a bank, a credit card company or your tax software provider, check out the source before clicking on links or responding. A scammer may also decide to send a duplicate email that is very similar to the email you have just received from a trusted individual. The duplicate will contain an attachment or link that downloads the malware.
Another effective strategy for scammers is to claim urgency. They may indicate your password to an important website has expired and must be renewed immediately. Finally, be careful if there is an email address that includes misspellings. Some scammers have been quite successful with email addresses that are identical, except there is a "0" that replaces the "o" in the email address.
IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel notes, "There are major red flags that can be easily overlooked, so tax professionals and taxpayers should be extra careful and look closely when they receive an email from an official looking source."
Tax preparers are reminded they are required by the Federal Trade Commission to use multi-factor authentication for access to client personally identifiable information (PII). Professionals should develop a Written Information Security Plan (WISP). This plan will help protect your clients and yourself from fraudsters and scammers.
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