IRS, Security Summit partners restructure anti-fraud framework for U.S. tax system

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IRS, Security Summit anti-fraud

Highlights

IRS and Security Summit partners restructured the anti-fraud framework to strengthen protections and enhance information sharing across tax administration as of June 2024.
The updated framework establishes five work groups focused on pre-filing, forecasting, preventing, detecting, and responding, placing greater emphasis on payroll partners targeted by cybercriminals.
The system introduces real-time fraud detection, expanded intelligence-sharing with payroll stakeholders, and coordinated technical responses through the Coalition Against Scam and Scheme Threats.

New anti-fraud structure and work groups

As announced by the Internal Revenue Service, the revised Security Summit framework is intended to strengthen protections and improve information sharing across tax administration. The partnership brings together the IRS, state tax administrators, tax software companies, tax professionals and the broader tax community in a coordinated effort against tax-related identity theft.

The IRS says the Summit has helped protect millions of taxpayers and prevented billions of dollars from being paid to fraudsters since it began. Officials say threat actors are increasingly stealing underlying tax and financial information from taxpayers, businesses and tax professionals to submit authentic-looking false returns that can bypass traditional safeguards.

IRS Chief Executive Office Frank J. Bisignano says the long-running collaboration shows how private sector expertise can help improve government operations. IRS Return Integrity & Compliance Services Director Jim Clifford says the updated structure is designed to align work across each stage of the tax lifecycle so partners can identify and stop fraud earlier.

Payroll focus and broader tax-system impact

The new structure places greater emphasis on payroll partners, whose wage and withholding data has become a more attractive target for cybercriminals. Five work groups are being set up around pre-filing, forecasting, preventing, detecting and reporting, and responding, with a focus on earlier warning signs, stronger data protection and faster operational coordination.

Under the plan, partners are expected to improve early identification of suspicious information returns and behavior, anticipate emerging fraud schemes before they spread, and deploy tools that reduce opportunities for misuse of compromised data. The framework also calls for real-time fraud detection, broader intelligence-sharing that includes payroll industry stakeholders, and coordinated technical responses to security incidents.

The Security Summit is also using the Coalition Against Scam and Scheme Threats for rapid assessment of time-sensitive risks. The changes underscore how fraud prevention in tax administration increasingly depends on cross-industry data security as identity thieves adapt their methods.

In our earlier coverage of a congressional investigation into alleged systemic fraud in Minnesota’s taxpayer-funded social programs, we described claims that state officials ignored warning signs for years and kept payments flowing to providers flagged for potential fraud. The staff report alleged significant exposure to federal losses, while lawmakers pushed for tighter anti-fraud safeguards and greater accountability in state program management.

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