Intuit announced that TurboTax resumed e-filing of state income tax returns Sunday afternoon after the company paused transmissions Friday due to suspicious filings and attempts to file fraudulent state tax returns and claim refunds.
Intuit is continuing to work with the states, a few of which first reported the suspicious activity, to build anti-fraud capabilities and share best practices.
“Nothing is more important to us than the safety of our customers’ data,” said Brad Smith, Intuit president and chief executive officer, in a statement. “We are taking this issue very seriously and from the moment it emerged it has been all-hands-on-deck. We’ll continue to remain vigilant, but I am more than pleased that we were able to resume transmission for our customers within about 24 hours.”
After working with third-party security expert Palantir in a preliminary investigation, Intuit said there was not a security breach of its systems, but in its ongoing examination, the company implemented targeted security measures, including multi-factor authentication to combat identity theft. The filing of federal returns was not affected.
Customers who might have been victims of tax fraud can call Intuit’s dedicated toll-free number at 800-944-8596 to get access to specially trained identity protection agents who can provide support and filing assistance.
