Over 100,000 taxpayers’ tax return information was taken from the IRS data and traced to somewhere in Russia.  The criminals used an online tool provided by the IRS through which taxpayers are able to obtain transcripts of their previously filed tax returns.  This service is called “Get Transcript” and is available to anyone that has the right information to access an individual’s transcripts.  Unfortunately, the information needed to access this service is readily available from other online sources. (more…)