Letter to John Koskinen, Commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service - Protect Federal Employees from Tax-Related Identity Theft Following a Pair of Security Breaches of OPM's Personnel Database
Letter
The Honorable John Koskinen
Commissioner
Internal Revenue Service
1111 Constitution Avenue NW
Washington, D.C. 20224
Dear Commissioner Koskinen:
Last week's data breach of the Office of Personnel Management's (OPM) system has impacted thousands of current and former federal employees living in the state of Virginia.
As you know, filing and claiming a false return is startlingly easy, with scammers needing only a Social Security number (SSN) and a name to file and claim a false return. There have already been reports that the credentials and identities of government breach victims are appearing for sale online to potential identity thieves. I am concerned that federal employees' personal information could be used by scammers to fraudulently file a tax return next tax season.
I ask that you do everything in your power to protect the millions of current and former federal employees who had their sensitive personal information exposed by the hack of the OPM database. To that end, I request that you coordinate with OPM to prevent the victims of the breach from also becoming victims of tax-related identity theft.
Some ways that you may be able to help, include, but are not limited to:
1.Work with OPM to proactively notify federal workers that they meet the criteria to receive an IP PIN by completing IRS Form 14039, Identity Theft Affidavit. The taxpayer will be able to use the IP PIN, a unique six digit authentication number, when they file their tax return next tax season.
2.Prominently post information on the banner of your website about the availability of the IP PIN program.
3. Include additional filters next tax season that identify potentially fraudulent returns, and apply careful scrutiny to refunds claimed by victims of the OPM breach.
I look forward to a response indicating how the IRS can work with OPM to protect the tax information of the federal workforce. Thank you.
Sincerely,
Mark R. Warner
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