Intuit Announces Expanded Security Measures for Taxpayers and Tax Professionals
November 03 2016 - 11:04AM
Business Wire
Commends government, industry progress to
combat tax fraud
As part of today’s meeting of the IRS Security Summit, Intuit
Inc. (Nasdaq: INTU) announced additional security measures for its
consumer and professional tax software products. These measures
build on safeguards enacted in prior years and reflect the
company’s continued role in supporting industry and government’s
collaborative efforts to fight fraud and help protect taxpayer
information.
As a result of actions taken following last year’s inaugural
Security Summit, the IRS has reported that fewer people became
victims of tax-related identity theft this past tax season.
Government and industry protected more taxpayers from tax-related
identity theft, stopped more suspicious tax returns and prevented
more fraudulent refunds from getting into criminals’ hands. In
fact, from January through April 2016, the IRS stopped $1.1 billion
in fraudulent refunds.
“Protecting taxpayers and strengthening the integrity of the
U.S. tax system is a team effort, and the progress we’ve made
together over the past 18 months demonstrates our shared commitment
to fight fraud,” said CeCe Morken, executive vice president of
Intuit’s ProConnect Group. “There’s still much work to do. Intuit
is committed to doing our part to actively promote a set of best
practices and standards for reporting suspicious behavior to the
IRS and state revenue agencies to help them improve their ability
to identify tax fraud.”
Expanded Security for Tax
Professionals
The IRS Security Summit has developed industry requirements for
authentication for online and desktop professional tax products. In
support of these standards, and as part of Intuit’s continued
commitment to lead the industry with new capabilities, Intuit
ProConnect has implemented enhanced security measures for Lacerte,
ProSeries and ProConnect Tax Online.
- End-User Authentication in Desktop
Software: New this year, all individual users within a firm who
login and access Intuit ProConnect desktop professional tax
software must create and use a unique username and password. After
30 minutes of inactivity, re-authorization will be required.
- Stronger Passwords: Passwords
must now be at least eight characters in length and include a
combination of upper and lower case letters, numbers and special
characters. Passwords will expire every 90 days.
- Captcha Technology: Captcha
technology helps ensures a person is signing in, not a robot and
has been enabled to help protect Intuit online products.
These changes supplement multi-factor authentication, introduced
last year in Intuit’s ProConnect Tax Online, which requires
customers to use more than a password before access is granted to
their account. When customers login to ProConnect Tax Online,
Intuit automatically sends a unique, six-digit code to their
pre-designated, trusted device or email account to be used in
combination with their password to securely access their
account.
Expanded Security for
Taxpayers
In addition to the multiple security measures Intuit introduced
in prior years in its TurboTax® products, including expanded
multi-factor authentication, Touch ID account authentication and
customer notifications, this year, additional measures have been
put in place, including:
- Trusted Phone Number: TurboTax
is making it easier for returning customers to regain access to
their prior-year account by logging in with a phone number. Anytime
returning customers come back to log in to their TurboTax account,
they now have the added option of using a verified phone number for
a trusted device. Adding a trusted phone number – one that can be
used to receive verification codes by text or call, provides an
extra layer of security.
- Anti-Phishing: TurboTax is
taking additional steps to fight phishing scams. In their account
history, customers can now view security and account emails that
come from TurboTax, helping them determine whether an email they
received is from Intuit.
- Stronger Passwords: Consistent
with IRS Security Summit requirements for all tax software
products, TurboTax passwords must now be at least eight characters
in length and include a combination of upper and lower case
letters, numbers and special characters.
“Security is built into everything we do. We’re continuing to
invest in new measures to ensure our products have industry-leading
fraud protection while driving industry-wide standards that will
help further protect taxpayers and tax professionals,” added
Morken.
About Intuit Inc.
Intuit Inc. creates business and financial management solutions
that simplify the business of life for small businesses, consumers
and accounting professionals.
Its flagship products and services
include QuickBooks® and TurboTax®, which make it
easier to manage small businesses and tax preparation and
filing. Mint provides a fresh, easy and intelligent way
for people to manage their money, while Intuit's
ProConnect brand portfolio includes ProConnect
Online, ProSeries® and Lacerte®, the company's leading
tax preparation offerings for professional accountants.
Founded in 1983, Intuit had revenue of $4.7 billion in its
fiscal year 2016. The company has approximately 7,900 employees
with major offices in the United States, Canada,
the United Kingdom, India, Australia and other
locations. More information can be found
at www.intuit.com.
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Intuit Inc.Julie Miller, 858-215-8469Julie_miller@intuit.com
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