Identity Thieves
The IRS was the target of identity thieves for the third time in the past year. Due to these breaches should the IRS put additional safeguards in place to make their e-file system more secure?
At Practical Accounting Solutions we certainly think they should. Practical Accounting Solutions is focused on safeguarding taxpayer data because without these protections your trust in us is removed. Does the IRS feel the same way? It doesn’t look like it at this point but they can certainly make changes and improvements to their security platforms.
Questions to Ask Yourself When E-filing
Are you be willing to forego the opportunity to e-file your own taxes to make this process safer for the average taxpayer?
Should changes should be made to at-home tax prep software to ensure that only one return is filed per package or IP address (most come with up to 5 at this time)?
What ways can this sensitive data (SSN, DOB, Bank Information, Employment Information, etc.) be safe-guarded to limit the vulnerabilities that are currently being publicized?
Practical Accounting Solutions is an Electronic Return Originator (ERO). We have passed several security checks performed by the IRS to ensure that we are appropriately filing tax returns on behalf of valid taxpayers. Also, the IRS can shut us down at any time if they think we are filing fraudulent returns or sharing taxpayer data.
With Do-It-Yourself software the software company is the ERO. They then “license” that capability to anyone who will sign up with them and pay their fees.
Which process sounds more secure to you? The more secure process is for an accountant or professional to become an ERO. This process also limits the number of portals that returns can be filed. This lessens the chance of a breach.