WASHINGTON — Sophisticated criminals used an online service run by the IRS to access personal tax information from more than 100,000 taxpayers, part of an elaborate scheme to steal identities and claim fraudulent tax refunds, the tax collection agency said Tuesday.
The thieves accessed a now-shutdown system called “Get Transcript,” where taxpayers can get tax returns and other filings from previous years. To access the information, the thieves cleared a security screen that required knowledge about the taxpayer, including Social Security number, date of birth, tax filing status and street address, the IRS said.
“We’re confident that these are not amateurs,” said Internal Revenue Service Commissioner John Koskinen. “These actually are organized crime syndicates that not only we but everybody in the financial industry are dealing with.”
Identity thieves, both foreign and domestic, have stepped up their efforts in recent years to claim fraudulent tax refunds. The agency estimates it paid out $5.8 billion in fraudulent refunds to identity thieves in 2013.
While the system is shutdown, taxpayers can still apply for transcripts and old returns by mail.
