<html>
<head>
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=Windows-1252">
<style type="text/css" style="display:none;"> P {margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;} </style>
</head>
<body dir="ltr">
<div style="font-family: Calibri, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: normal; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">
<span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif"></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt; line-height: 107%; font-size: 11pt; font-family: "Calibri", sans-serif;margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:
normal">
<span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;
mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family:Calibri">The Internal Revenue Service, the Rhode Island Division of Taxation, and other partners in the Security Summit today urged
tax professionals to take additional security steps immediately to protect taxpayer data as more practitioners telework and security risks increase.
<br style="mso-special-character:
line-break">
<br style="mso-special-character:line-break">
</span><span style="mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;mso-fareast-font-family:
"Times New Roman";mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;mso-bidi-font-family:Calibri"></span></p>
<ul style="margin-bottom: 0in" type="disc">
<li style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt; line-height: 107%; font-size: 11pt; font-family: "Calibri", sans-serif;mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
line-height:normal;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1;tab-stops:list .5in">
<b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"">VPN</span></b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-font-family:
"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"">:
All tax professionals who are teleworking should be using an encrypted virtual private network, also known as a VPN. A VPN provides a secure, encrypted tunnel to transmit data between a remote user via the internet and the company network.</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;
mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman""></span></li></ul>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt; line-height: 107%; font-size: 11pt; font-family: "Calibri", sans-serif;mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
margin-left:.5in;line-height:normal">
<span style="font-size:1.0pt;font-family:
"Times New Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman""><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<ul style="margin-bottom: 0in" type="disc">
<li style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt; line-height: 107%; font-size: 11pt; font-family: "Calibri", sans-serif;mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
line-height:normal;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1;tab-stops:list .5in">
<b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-font-family:
"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"">Security code</span></b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-font-family:
"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"">:
Use multi-factor authentication, which most tax software providers are offering this year. This feature requires the returning software user to enter not only the user’s credentials (username/password) but also a security code, generally sent as a text to
a mobile phone, for added security.</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family:
"Times New Roman""></span></li></ul>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt; line-height: 107%; font-size: 11pt; font-family: "Calibri", sans-serif;mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
margin-left:.5in;line-height:normal">
<span style="font-size:2.0pt;font-family:
"Times New Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman""><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<ul style="margin-bottom: 0in" type="disc">
<li style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt; line-height: 107%; font-size: 11pt; font-family: "Calibri", sans-serif;mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
line-height:normal;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1;tab-stops:list .5in">
<b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-font-family:
"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"">Phishing scams</span></b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-font-family:
"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"">:
Identity thieves have stepped up phishing scam efforts to capitalize on the new federal stimulus payments (also known as recovery rebates, COVID-19 payments, or economic impact payments). Criminals are targeting tax professionals as well as taxpayers. Beware
of emails from criminals posing as potential clients. Criminals may try to trick tax practitioners into opening links or attachments.</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman""></span></li></ul>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt; line-height: 107%; font-size: 11pt; font-family: "Calibri", sans-serif;mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
margin-left:.5in;line-height:normal">
<span style="font-size:1.0pt;font-family:
"Times New Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman""><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<ul style="margin-bottom: 0in" type="disc">
<li style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt; line-height: 107%; font-size: 11pt; font-family: "Calibri", sans-serif;mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
line-height:normal;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1;tab-stops:list .5in">
<b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-font-family:
"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"">Security software</span></b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;
mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"">:
Everyone, especially tax professionals, should use broad-based security software that protects not just their computers but mobile phones as well. Security features will help to identify and stop potentially dangerous malware that can infect digital networks.</span><span style="font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman""></span></li></ul>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt; line-height: 107%; font-size: 11pt; font-family: "Calibri", sans-serif;line-height:106%">
<span style="font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family:Calibri"><br>
</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt; line-height: 107%; font-size: 11pt; font-family: "Calibri", sans-serif;line-height:106%">
<span style="font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family:Calibri">For more information, see the IRS's
<a href="https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.irs.gov_pub_irs-2Dpdf_p4557.pdf&d=DwMF-g&c=tSLbvWYfvulPN3G_n48TUw&r=3N0CXa2u4V7_DU38-YjSBY2i0S2qGG60dynqKUqOstM&m=Wldu8hKqMa4dGqN-gPYtEI1hSkAOyHMaGoTyCZh4Xfc&s=iKi831W3rpEmBxNvAJ0dQJwkfOXZJeicUCsaRj9-rb4&e="><span style="color:blue">“Safeguarding Taxpayer Data”</span> [irs.gov]</a> guide.</span><span style="mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-bidi-font-family:Calibri"></span></p>
<br>
</div>
</body>
</html>