irs – Page 3 – Computer Security Articles

Name+DOB+SSN=FAFSA Data Gold Mine

November 24, 2017 admin FAFSA, irs, tax refund fraud

Credit to Author: BrianKrebs| Date: Fri, 24 Nov 2017 12:55:03 +0000

KrebsOnSecurity has sought to call attention to online services which expose sensitive consumer data if the user knows a handful of static details about a person that are broadly for sale in the cybercrime underground, such as name, date of birth, and Social Security Number. Perhaps the most eye-opening example of this is on display at fafsa.ed.gov, the Web site set up by the U.S. Department of Education for anyone interested in applying for federal student financial aid.

Independent MotherBoard Security

IRS Cybercrime Agent Lurks Dark Web Subreddit Looking For Hackers

October 17, 2017 admin cybercrime, cybersecurity, dark web, Darknetmarkets, hacking, infosec, irs, law enforcement, Reddit, subreddit

Credit to Author: Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai| Date: Tue, 17 Oct 2017 21:35:06 +0000

Even the taxman lurks on r/DarkNetMarkets.

Independent Krebs

Fear Not: You, Too, Are a Cybercrime Victim!

October 4, 2017 admin Christina Tetreault, Consumer Reports, Consumers Union, credit freeze, credit lock, Equifax, House Energy & Commerce Committee, hurricane irma, irs, Other, Politico, Richard Smith, TALX, Wells Fargo, wired.com, Yahoo

Credit to Author: BrianKrebs| Date: Wed, 04 Oct 2017 04:34:50 +0000

Maybe you’ve been feeling left out because you weren’t among the lucky few hundred million or billion who had their personal information stolen in either the Equifax or Yahoo! breaches. Well buck up, camper: Both companies took steps to make you feel better today. Yahoo! announced that, our bad!: It wasn’t just one billion users who had their account information filched in its record-breaking 2013 data breach. It was more like three billion (read: all) users. Meanwhile, big three credit bureau Equifax added 2.5 million more victims to its roster of 143 million Americans who had their Social Security numbers and other personal data filched in a breach earlier this year. At the same time, Equifax’s erstwhile CEO informed Congress that the breach was the result of even more bone-headed security than was first disclosed. To those still feeling left out by either company after this spate of news, I have only one thing to say (although I feel a bit like a broken record in repeating this): Assume you’re compromised, and take steps accordingly.

MalwareBytes Security

A week in security (September 18 – September 24)

September 25, 2017 admin ats, ccleaner, Equifax, ice, irs, Mac, NETFLIX, Security world, Week in security, weekly blog roundup

Credit to Author: Malwarebytes Labs| Date: Mon, 25 Sep 2017 16:24:17 +0000

A compilation of notable security news and blog posts from the 18th of September to the 24th of September. Read all about the CCleaner supply chain attack and a lot of other security news.

Categories:

Tags: ats ccleaner Equifax ice IRS mac netflix weekly blog roundup

(Read more…)

The post A week in security (September 18 – September 24) appeared first on Malwarebytes Labs.

MalwareBytes Security

Fake IRS notice delivers customized spying tool

September 21, 2017 admin CP2000, CVE-2017-0199, doc, exploit, irs, malspam, malware, office, phishing, Rat, remote administration tool, RMS, spy, Threat analysis, Word

Credit to Author: Jérôme Segura| Date: Thu, 21 Sep 2017 15:00:24 +0000

Threat actors leverage a Microsoft Office exploit to spy on their victims. In this blog post, we will review its delivery mechanism and analyze the malware we observed, a modified version of a commercial Remote Administration Tool (RAT).

Categories:

Tags: CP2000 CVE-2017-0199 doc exploit IRS malspam malware Office phishing rat remote administration tool RMS spy word

(Read more…)

The post Fake IRS notice delivers customized spying tool appeared first on Malwarebytes Labs.

Independent Krebs

Private Eye Allegedly Used Leaky Goverment Tool in Bid to Find Tax Data on Trump

May 22, 2017 admin AGI, Averlock Investigations, Diverseeducation.com, Donald J. Trump, FAFSA, irs, Jamaal Abdul-Alim, Other, S. Gina Garza, tax refund fraud, Timothy P. Camus, U.S. Attorney J. Walter Green

Credit to Author: BrianKrebs| Date: Mon, 22 May 2017 20:11:27 +0000

In March 2017, KrebsOnSecurity warned that thieves who perpetrate tax refund fraud with the U.S. Internal Revenue Service were leveraging a widely-used online student loan tool to find critical data on consumers that allows them to claim huge refunds with the IRS in someone else’s name. This week, it emerged that a Louisiana-based private investigator is being charged with using the same online tool to glean tax data on then-presidential candidate Donald J. Trump. A story today at Diverseeducation.com points to court filings in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana, in which local private eye Jordan Hamlett is accused by federal prosecutors of abusing an automated tool at the U.S. Department of Education website that is designed to make it easier for families to complete the Education Department’s Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) — a lengthy form that serves as the starting point for students seeking federal financial assistance to pay for college or career school.

Independent Krebs

Phishing 101 at the School of Hard Knocks

March 24, 2017 admin 2fa, BGSU, Bowling Green State University, irs, Matt Haschak, multi-factor authentication, Other, phishing, tax refund fraud, two-factor authentication

Credit to Author: BrianKrebs| Date: Fri, 24 Mar 2017 16:03:21 +0000

A recent, massive spike in sophisticated and successful phishing attacks is prompting many universities to speed up timetables for deploying mandatory two-factor authentication (2FA) — requiring a one-time code in addition to a password — for access to student and faculty services online. This is the story of one university that accelerated plans to require 2FA after witnessing nearly twice as many phishing victims in the first two-and-half months of this year than it saw in all of 2015.

Independent Krebs

Student Aid Tool Held Key for Tax Fraudsters

March 21, 2017 admin FAFSA, Free Application for Federal Financial Aid, Get Transcript, irs, IRS Data Retrieval Tool, Other, The Wall Street Journal, U.S. Department of Education, w-2 phishing

Credit to Author: BrianKrebs| Date: Tue, 21 Mar 2017 19:07:14 +0000

Citing concerns over criminal activity and fraud, the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has disabled an automated tool on its Web site that was used to help students and their families apply for federal financial aid. The removal of the tool has created unexpected hurdles for many families hoping to qualify for financial aid, but the action also eliminated a key source of data that fraudsters could use to conduct tax refund fraud. Last week, the IRS and the Department of Education said in a joint statement that they were temporarily shutting down the IRS’s Data Retrieval Tool. The service was designed to make it easier to complete the Education Department’s Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) — a lengthy form that serves as the starting point for students seeking federal financial assistance to pay for college or career school.