Getting an IP pin, nevertheless, may take time, relying on whether or not you apply on-line, by mail or in individual. (Ms. Collins’s annual report mentioned some taxpayers would possibly discover the web course of “burdensome.”) Filers could have been reluctant to take part as a result of beforehand, in the event you had requested a pin voluntarily, you couldn’t later change your thoughts and decide out. However that has changed, the I.R.S. web site says. When you have not been a sufferer of tax-related identification theft, it’s possible you’ll now decide out of the pin program.

Melanie Lauridsen, vice chairman for tax coverage and advocacy with the American Institute of Licensed Public Accountants, suggested working with a good tax preparer and having your tax data effectively organized so you possibly can file early within the season, decreasing the chances {that a} fraudulent return will likely be filed first. “Give it to the preparer in a well timed method,” she mentioned.

Different steps, together with placing a fraud alert or safety freeze in your credit score report, may assist defend delicate data that can be utilized in identification theft.

How do criminals get private data to make use of in tax return fraud?

Data breaches or leaks, which have develop into numbingly frequent, can expose delicate data to identification criminals. In 2023, there have been 3,205 publicly reported information compromises — at well being care suppliers, cable and cellphone corporations, mortgage lenders, and different companies — affecting greater than 353 million individuals, a 78 % improve from 2022, based on the Identification Theft Useful resource Middle, a nonprofit group that tracks breaches and assists victims. “They’re the gasoline for fraud,” mentioned Eva Velasquez, the group’s chief government.

In some instances, legal networks are behind the information compromises. In a case filed in Texas final 12 months, the federal authorities charged seven people with fraudulently registering with the I.R.S. as taxpayer representatives and acquiring private data on filers, which they then used to submit tons of of fraudulent tax returns and procure unlawful refunds. All seven have pleaded guilty to the fees.