A recap of the 2025 Summer Security Summit series

IRS Tax Tip 2025-63, Sept. 18, 2025

Summer and the Protect Your Clients; Protect Yourself campaign may have come to an end, but that doesn’t mean scams and schemes take a break. The IRS and its Security Summit partners wrapped up a five-week long series that provided tips for tax professionals to best protect taxpayers and themselves.

While the Security Summit was geared towards tax professionals, individual taxpayers need to be just as mindful of tax schemes. A current issue is a surge of misinformation on social media promoting the misuse of credits such as the Fuel Tax Credit and the Sick and Family Leave Credit. This can lead taxpayers to file inaccurate returns and result in a denial of refunds and or penalties.

It’s crucial everyone does their part to stay informed though credible and trusted sources and take necessary precautionary measures.

Highlights from Summer Security Summit series 2025

• New, emerging scams targeting tax pros: Reminders for tax professionals to stay informed of new and evolving schemes aimed at stealing business and taxpayer information. A couple examples are phone, text and correspondence schemes and scams involving EFINs, PTINs, CAF numbers.

• Tax pros should watch out for phishing emails and other attacks: A deeper dive into the many types of phishing scams such as spear or clone phishing, the warning signs to look out for, tips to add more protection and ways to report.
• The requirement for tax pros to have Written Information Security Plan: Tax professionals are required to have a Written Information Security Plan. A WISP is a mechanism to protect client data. The IRS outlines the basics of a good WISP and provides like IRS Publication 5708, Creating a Written Information Security Plan for your Tax & Accounting Practice PDF to help with this process.
• Ways to protect against tax identity theft: There are mechanisms and authentication tools available such as IRS Identity Protection PIN or IP PINs and the IRS Online Accounts that can help protect against tax-related identity theft. Additionally, using multi-factor authentication is a best practice and a federal requirement to protect clients’ sensitive information.
• A recap of tools and advice to help protect important data: Scammers don’t take breaks and schemes are always evolving. It’s important to know the warning signs, ways to prevent data from being compromised and what to do if a breach happens.

There are several IRS verified social media platforms and e-News subscription services where tax-related information can be found.

More information

• Visit Identity Theft Central and Data Theft Information For Tax Professionals for more information and tools.

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