By Steve Ragan, Call recording on: Listen as an IRS scammer threatens us with arrest if money isn't paid | CSO Online
Before I got to the bottom of the page I'm thinking this is a scam itself and then low and behold I get to the bottom of the page and read Dermot7 post. Even if it wasn't a scam all you would have to do is type up an Affidavit that it wasn't you and then submit it into the Public Record of the Recorders office where you live and nothing in court will stand up against you. If you had to appear in court you show the judge the Affidavit. An unrebutted Affidavit becomes truth in commerce.
This hit home on my end. When my Son went to file, his daughters number (minor) was already used and now its going to take paperwork and lots of time to get his own money. This really is beyond believable. If the IRS can't be secure, then who can??
You just have to love this stuff. Check this out, the Gov is beyond stupid! So I efile my 2015 taxes and all goes through, money comes back pretty quickly. Done for 2015 taxes. After reading this thread and posting above about my son's issues, I decide to get an IRS - IP PIN so my tax stuff is secure for the future. Sounds like a plan right? Nope according to the IRS. They issue those to folks that have already been hacked, and not folks that have been lucky to this point. Kidding right? Nope, you can get the protection only after you spend all the time and energy cleaning up after a tax hack on your records. Amazingly stupid! I am really hoping that the IRS agent I spoke with is wrong, but I don't want to spend another 45 minutes on the phone waiting for another one. The 45 minutes is another issue, but that is another thread too.
So now I find out I was not told the whole truth. It is possible to fill out form 14039 and simply state you feel like your bank, credit card company, etc... may have been hacked and the IRS will give you an IP PIN once they get your 14039 in their hands. They never deny the IP PIN if you state a fear of being hacked on the 14039. Technically I wasn't lied to but the agent had to know this "ploy" is available to all residents. The Gov can really frustrate me. I thought they were working for us.
Was the security designer on this project an 8 yr old doing a school project? This call in (website access) feature to re-discover your lost/forgotten IP PIN completely negates the concept in its entirety. Two no brainer options/suggestions: 1. physical attendance at an IRS office if you forget or lose your IP PIN (remember this is YOUR fault not the IRS's). Prerequisite to protect us all and there are NO exceptions! 2. 2FA (two factor authentication) where a six digit text code is sent to the designated phone number on the IRS IP PIN record file. One time use code and you have ten minutes to confirm it on the IRS website or its useless!! Remember that if you are not going to require physical attendance the individual is already on the website providing their "supposed" credentials to secure the PIN. The site fires out the code via text and the taxpayer enters the code on the site. NO code means NO PIN provided, NO exceptions. After 3 failed attempts the PIN providing feature is locked to physical attendance only. What could possibly be wrong with this idea? The legit user wouldn't be inconvenienced at all. If my PIN feature gets locked by a "dirt bag" I could care less because I already have my PIN. I simply file and provide the PIN and I am good!
Many people work for these agencies such as IRS are truly beyond stupid. You could not believe how such a school of stupid ****** still have your most important personal info on their website. Whoever in charge of the IRS.GOV security should have been fired. ******.
I don't believe the stupidity argument I'm afraid. The bottom line is that at the "corporate" and senior management levels, they have no significant skin in the game. They won't go to jail over it, and their bonuses/empire would suffer if they took care over other peoples' data. The foot-troops will vary, some of them are highly intelligent and skilled. And they will have learned that management is not the slightest interested in doing it properly, and will not fund doing even moderately responsible things. If anything, this situation has got worse since the laws giving relief from liability if corporates participate in information sharing was passed, and government has blanket immunity.
I really wish the things you said were false. I just signed up for the IP PIN under the assumption that it will be locked to a reset via the web. I have never been hit yet, but my Son has. I figure this can't hurt, but my fingers are crossed. I already have my 2015 refund deposited so I made it through last year OK in this regard.
