WASHINGTON—Krebs on Security is warning the new Treasury/IRS website to help non-tax-filers receive their stimulus payments could make it easy for thieves to intercept some checks.
Brian Krebs, who runs the respected site on online security, reported the possibility of payments being intercepted is "very real" due to the "relatively lax identification requirements" of the non-filer portal and high number of tax refund fraud in years past.
"In this case, fraudsters would simply need to identify the personal information for a pool of Americans who don’t normally file tax returns, which may well include a large number of people who are disabled, poor or simply do not have easy access to a computer or the Internet," stated Krebs. "Armed with this information, the scammers need only provide the target’s name, address, date of birth and Social Security number, and then supply their own bank account information to claim at least $1,200 in electronic payments."
Krebs added that a tool expected to be released this week to enable individuals to track the status of their payment could also potentially be used to redirect payments.