IRS e-Services Moves to Secure Access Dec. 10

With all the phishing emails relating to e-services we wanted to forward the authentic message that the IRS has been sending out today.  Be on the lookout for this message coming to you fromn the IRS.  It is legitimate.  This Sunday, December 10th, IRS e-services will be switching over to their new Secure Access system.

All e-Services users must register through a new, more rigorous identity proofing process called Secure Access.

Any e-Services user who has not previously created a Secure Access account through Get Transcript Online, IP PIN tool, View Balance or by exception processing in recent days must validate his or her identity through this more rigorous process. This also includes all TIN Matching users and users who received Letter 5903 last December and authenticated by telephone.

This new process is not optional on the part of the IRS or its online users. The IRS has been planning this move for more than a year and must make this change to meet federal information system standards. Additionally, cybercriminals increasingly are targeting tax professionals to steal e-Services usernames and passwords, putting taxpayer data at risk.

In recent years, the IRS authenticated each e-Services user individually. When you registered for e-Services, you were asked for your name, address, social security number, your date of birth, adjusted gross income and filing status. That limited amount of information no longer is enough to meet federal information system standards. Users will continue to be authenticated as individuals.

Here’s how Secure Access helps:

• First, it strengthens the initial identity proofing process to make sure the person registering is who they say they are.

• Second, it strengthens security through a two-factor authentication process for returning users that helps prevent account takeover by cyber-criminals.  Two-factor authentication means you must have your credentials (username and password) plus a security code sent to your mobile phone or generated by your IRS2Go app each time you log in.

Once you have authenticated your identity and established a Secure Access account for e-Services, there is no further action required. Please note: Under Secure Access, you can no longer script the login process.

Learn more about the steps you must take to successfully complete the Secure Access process, alternatives to online processing and how to use the IRS2Go app. See “Important Update about Your e-Services Account” at www.irs.gov/eservices.