As if there was a need for even more scam tactics, it looks like criminals are taking a new direction. Mainly companies in the US should be concerned about tax return fraud. ADP, one of the largest payroll services in the world, was breached not too long ago. Up until this day, it remains unknown if user data was stolen, and if so, how many users are affected.
Tax Return Fraud Is A Grave Concern
Enterprises in the United States will know the name ADP all too well. Albeit it remains to be seen how the platform was affected, it has become apparent one hacker obtained information belonging to employees of US Bank. By registering new accounts using these credentials, hackers could get even more sensitive information about their targets.
All of this data can be used to effectively commit tax return fraud. In the US, filing for tax return requires personal information and W-2 information. Needless to say, tax return fraud puts individual users, and their companies at risk. Moreover, this also means other businesses may be affected.
So far, ADP refutes all claims of their own network being breached by assailants. However, the institution remains tightlipped as to where the security flaws were exploited, or who is to blame. A third-party service connected ADP is one of the possible options, and if this is the case, it is unknown where or not that entity fixed the flaw.
Registering an ADP account is not as straightforward as signing up for Facebook. Users need a company-issued URL, which usually required credentials to use. One mistake made by US Bank was how they published this URL online, albeit they have removed the relevant information ever since the breach was made public.
Luckily for all parties involved, the impact on US Bank employees has been minimal. Customers of both ADP and the financial institution were not affected either. But this once again goes to show cyber security measures need to be taken far more seriously. Insufficient solutions will cause harm sooner or later.
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