In early 2015 during tax season, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) database was hacked. At the time, It was unclear how large the data breach truly was. The numbers continued to grow as time went on going from 114,000 people effected with personal information stolen to 724,000 vitcims last stated in early 2016 (CBS). Information stolen includes items such as full names, birth dates, and social security numbers. It was Hackers were utilizing this information to file tax resturns early before the actual person would and claim the fraudulant return. The IRS did a poor job communicating the risks and extent of the breach, which could have led to potentially more problems and fraud than if the issue was handled properly.

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https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2016/02/26/cyber-hack-gained-access-more-than-700000-irs-accounts/80992822/

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/irs-identity-theft-online-hackers-social-security-number-get-transcript/

A rare detailed look inside the IRS’s massive data breach, via a security expert who was a victim