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IRS sued over social security numbers data breach

Monday 24 August 2015 00:54 CET | News

Two taxpayers have sued the IRS agency over a recent hacking that included the theft of social security numbers.

Hackers reportedly stole personal data including social security numbers and accessed completed tax returns. The hackers were then able to use the information to file for bogus tax refunds, resulting in criminals obtaining USD 50 million in federal funds. Although the IRS originally said that the data breach affected 104,000 people, it revised that number this week to 330,000 people.

The IRS declined to comment on the lawsuit to Bloomberg News, but sent a statement saying that it is notifying taxpayers who may have been impacted by the breach.


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Keywords: data breaches, online security, web fraud, biometrics, online authentication, digital identity, IRS
Categories: Fraud & Financial Crime
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Countries: World
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Fraud & Financial Crime