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WASHINGTON – The Internal Revenue Service, in collaboration with Security Summit partners, announced a special awareness week aimed at taxpayers and tax professionals to protect sensitive financial information from identity thieves and tax fraud as the holidays and 2025 tax season approach, according to the IRS information.

The 9th annual National Tax Security Awareness Week is taking place this week by members of the Security Summit, a coalition of the IRS, state tax administrators, tax software companies, the tax professional community and others in the greater tax community.

During the holiday season, people face an increased risk of identity theft as criminals increase their efforts to trick people into sharing sensitive personal information, including through email, text messaging and social media scams and fraud. Identity thieves can use this information to file false tax returns and steal refunds.

“Scams and schemes evolve quickly. Extra caution from people during the holidays and the upcoming reporting season will be essential to avoid becoming a victim.” said IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel. “By being aware of the risks, taxpayers can protect themselves, their families and their communities. Vigilant taxpayers are on the front lines of the Security Summit partners’ larger efforts to strengthen the tax system against identity theft and tax fraud.”

National Tax Security Awareness Week includes a series of weeklong educational efforts by Summit partners to educate and inform taxpayers and tax professionals. The week will focus on how to defend yourself against identity theft and other scams, including inaccurate information on social media.

A key tool in identifying and defending against these forms of identity theft is the Identity Theft Information Sharing and Analysis Center (ISAC), which was developed by the IRS and Security Summit partners to better identify and coordinate fraudsters.

“The collective efforts of Security Summit partners continue to protect millions of taxpayers from identity thieves. But the threat of tax-related identity theft remains, including the increasing presence of tax scams circulating on social media that pose a threat not only during tax season, but also during the holidays and throughout the year. Consumers and tax professionals play an important role in helping us do this, and the information during this special week can help protect people from these ongoing threats.” says Julie Magee, one of the original Security Summit participants and Tax Policy Lead for Cash App Taxes.

The IRS has seen a spike in the following scams this year:

– “Tax credit for the self-employed”, which in reality does not exist.

– Household employment taxes, which taxpayers are persuaded to claim by inventing fake domestic workers.

– Fuel tax credit, which many claimants do not qualify for because it is intended for off-highway and agricultural uses.

– Inflated Income and Withholding, which encourages people to use tax software to manually fill out Form W-2, Wage and Tax Returns and include false income information.

– Claim of Right, which advises taxpayers to file tax returns and attempt to take a deduction equal to the full amount of their wages.

The IRS is reminding taxpayers to add an extra layer of protection between their tax returns and identity thieves by participating in the Identity Protection Personal Identification Number (IP PIN) program at the start of the 2025 tax season. They can do this after creating an IRS Online Account, a crucial online tool that allows taxpayers to securely access their tax information and return information from previous years.

Fraudsters are relentless in sending emails, text messages, and direct messages that give the impression that they come from a legitimate source, such as the IRS, the Internal Revenue Service, a bank, or a trusted tax professional. Taxpayers should beware of such requests and the dangerous links, attachments, and contact information they contain. Never click, call or respond to this without first independently verifying the source.

Steps that can protect taxpayers, businesses and tax professionals include:

– Update security software automatically.

– Back up important files.

– Require strong passwords and link them to multi-factor authentication (MFA).

– Encrypt all devices.