8d • General discussion
WISP. REQUIRED
🔐 TAX TEAM KNOWLEDGE OF THE DAY
Protecting Our Clients' Information
As tax professionals, we are trusted with some of our clients' most sensitive information—Social Security numbers, income information, banking information, addresses, identification documents, and dependent information.
According to the IRS, tax professionals are frequent targets of cybercriminals because of the valuable taxpayer information they maintain.
TEAM SECURITY REMINDERS
Never share your PTIN, EFIN, passwords, or login credentials.
Use multi-factor authentication whenever it is available.
Do not open unexpected links or attachments.
An email may appear to come from the IRS, a tax software company, another tax professional, or even a potential client and still be a phishing attempt.
Verify suspicious emails before opening attachments.
If someone unexpectedly sends tax documents, contact the person through a trusted method before opening the files.
Protect taxpayer documents.
Sensitive taxpayer information should not be casually sent through unsecured email, text messages, or other unprotected methods.
Limit access to client information.
Employees should only have access to taxpayer information necessary to perform their jobs.
Protect your EFIN.
Criminals may attempt to steal an Electronic Filing Identification Number and other credentials to file fraudulent returns.
📌 DID YOU KNOW?
The IRS says professional tax preparers are required to maintain an information security plan to protect client information.
This is commonly called a Written Information Security Plan (WISP).
Your WISP should address areas such as:
• Employee training and management
• Protection of information systems
• Identifying security risks
• Responding to security incidents
• Protecting sensitive taxpayer information
⭐ TEAM MESSAGE
Protect the return. Protect the taxpayer. Protect the business.
Every employee plays a role in data security. One careless click, weak password, or improperly handled document can put both the taxpayer and the tax office at risk.
Before you click it, download it, send it, print it, or share it — THINK SECURITY.
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WISP. REQUIRED
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