From now and through the 7th, is aimed at helping taxpayers, businesses, and tax professionals protect sensitive data from cyber thieves. The campaign launches at a time of year when consumers more likely to be sharing financial information online while doing holiday shopping, and precedes the coming tax season, when tax-related scams run rampant. Here’s what you need to know about National Tax Security Awareness Week, and how you can participate.
What Issues Will Be Addressed?
National Tax Security Awareness Week will span five days, from Monday, December 3rd, to Friday, December 7th. Each day will focus on a different key threat to taxpayer security. The IRS will provide tips for protecting yourself and your business from cyber thieves, and raise awareness about common tactics that thieves will use to get your information. The overall goal is to help taxpayers become more capable of recognizing scams, and to help them be proactive in protecting their financial information and their identities.
Various partners in the Security Summit initiative will host over 20 events in 19 different states around the country, so be on the lookout for any events in your area.
Register for the IRS’s Free Public Webinar
On December 3rd, the IRS will be hosting a free public webinar on how identity thieves use the Dark Web to distribute stolen identities, credit card data, tax information, and other sensitive financial data. While many people may believe that identity thieves steal this information for themselves, it is much more common for this type of data to be stolen and sold on the Dark Web.
The IRS’s webinar will be hosted by representatives from their Criminal Investigation unit, and will be approximately 100 minutes long. You’ll learn more about how thieves use the Dark Web, as well as how to recognize risks to your information’s security. This webinar will be held on Monday, December 3rd, at 2:00 pm EST. You can register for the webinar here.
Get Involved on Social Media
In honor of National Tax Security Awareness Week, the IRS has created a new Twitter handle that is aimed solely at keeping taxpayers aware of common tax scams and threats to their security. You can follow @IRSTaxSecurity to stay up to date on any new tax scams and information security issues. If you receive an email or message that you believe to be a tax scam, you can also share that information using the #TaxSecurity hashtag.
You can also help to spread awareness of the campaign (and about cyber security in general) by using a special overlay for your profile photo throughout the week. You can add that overlay here. The IRS has emphasized that it needs the help of individuals, businesses, and tax professionals alike to help raise awareness of tax security.
We strongly encourage each of our clients to participate in National Tax Security Awareness Week in any way they are able to.