8filltheheart Posted April 8, 2017 Share Posted April 8, 2017 https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/06/us/politics/internal-revenue-service-breach-taxpayer-data.html?_r=0 WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service said on Thursday that the personal data of as many as 100,000 taxpayers could have been compromised through a scheme in which hackers posed as students using an online tool to apply for financial aid.... The possibility of an attack became known in early March after the I.R.S. shut down its Data Retrieval Tool, which families used to import tax information to Fafsa, the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, on the Education Department’s website. The shutdown, at the height of financial aid application season, caused outrage among parents and students trying to fill out the complicated Fafsa forms. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angie in VA Posted April 8, 2017 Share Posted April 8, 2017 Ugh. Thanks for the heads up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom31257 Posted April 8, 2017 Share Posted April 8, 2017 How would you know if you were one of the people compromised? We've never been involved in a hacking situation. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JanetC Posted April 8, 2017 Share Posted April 8, 2017 Sounds like they are sending letters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sebastian (a lady) Posted April 8, 2017 Share Posted April 8, 2017 Be careful with responding to letters and emails about this. After the big OPM hack a few years back the agency sent out emails and letters, but there were also phishing emails because scammers knew enough to create realistic looking announcement that collected more personal info. It is a vicious circle. I'm appalled that the IRS knew this was an issue but didn't tell anyone or shut down the system. Yes it would have been disruptive, but so is having your tax return fraudulently submitted. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JumpedIntoTheDeepEndFirst Posted April 8, 2017 Share Posted April 8, 2017 Thanks for the heads up!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sebastian (a lady) Posted April 8, 2017 Share Posted April 8, 2017 I'm disappointed in how little press this is getting. THIS thread is on the first page of results for "FAFSA hacked". 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freesia Posted April 8, 2017 Share Posted April 8, 2017 I'm disappointed in how little press this is getting. THIS thread is on the first page of results for "FAFSA hacked". That's probably b/c the search adjusts to your internet activity or searches. I often get a welltrained mind result b/c I use google to search these forums. I saw the FAFSA thing yesterday on NBC so it is getting some press. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sebastian (a lady) Posted April 9, 2017 Share Posted April 9, 2017 That's probably b/c the search adjusts to your internet activity or searches. I often get a welltrained mind result b/c I use google to search these forums. I saw the FAFSA thing yesterday on NBC so it is getting some press. Good point. I had expected it to show up on the CNN main page, but didn't see it. Washington Post did run a piece on it too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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