The Internal Revenue Service has closed down its electronic filing PIN tool after noticing suspicious activity.
The IRS said Thursday that it saw automated attacks taking place with more frequency and has closed both the online tool on IRS.gov in addition to the toll-free phone service.
The IRS had detected such activity in February, finding that cybercriminals were using taxpayer information they had stolen elsewhere, along with an automated bot attack, to access more than 100,000 e-File PINs using the online tool (see
The IRS noted that the e-File PIN mainly provides an alternative signature verification method for the Form 1040 series and helps with electronically filing the returns. Most taxpayers do not need an e-File PIN to transmit their tax returns, though. They can instead just use the adjusted gross income from their prior-year tax return to verify their identity with the IRS.
The IRS said the shutdown would not have an impact on most taxpayers.
“The IRS notes that the change only affects a smaller segment of taxpayers who have not filed their tax returns this year and need a replacement e-File PIN,” said the IRS in a