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Identity Thieves Obtain 100,000 Electronic Filing PINs From IRS System (csoonline.com)
itwbennett writes: In January attackers targeted an IRS Web application in an attempt to obtain E-file PINs corresponding to 464,000 previously stolen social security numbers (SSNs) and other taxpayer data. The automated bot was blocked by the IRS after obtaining 100,000 PINs. The IRS said in a statement Tuesday that the SSNs were not stolen from the agency and that the agency would be notifying affected taxpayers.
with ten-thousand 4-digit PINs. Interested?
NB: The message above might reflect my opinion right now, but not necessarily tomorrow or next year.
If it only worked that way. The real game they are playing is to file your taxes with a bunch of fake dependents, every dedication they can take, etc., in order to drive up a refund. They then send the refund to a bank account they own and run away with the money, usually several thousand dollars. This often happens without you knowing at all. When you try to submit your real tax return, the IRS bounces it because you already filed. You then have to go through all sorts of hoops to prove to the IRS you are filing your real taxes and you don't need to pay them back the refund they've already send "you".
It happened to one of my co-workers last year. He didn't get it cleaned up until nearly August -- and he had to spend several hundred hours on the phone, in court, at the IRS office, etc. to get everything straightened out.