When Identity Thieves Hack Your Accountant [Krebs on Security]
Brian Krebs reports on one CPA who shall remain nameless and the “malware gang” that targeted him for his clients’ info. The scam used a “keylogger” that records every keystroke and uploads screenshots from its victim’s machine. These day-long logs were uploaded to a site that anyone who knew the URL could see, and wouldn’t you know it, this CPA’s wound was self-inflicted:
Those records suggest that this particular CPA — “John,” a New Jersey professional whose real name will be left out of this story — likely had his computer compromised sometime in mid-March 2018 (at least, this is as far back as the keylogging records go for John).
It’s also not clear exactly which method the thieves used to get malware on John’s machine. Screenshots for John’s account suggest he routinely ignored messages from Microsoft and other third party Windows programs about the need to apply critical security updates.
The IRS started informing John that many of his clients’ tax returns had already been filed but it took him two weeks to realize that he was the one who was compromised.
Worried About Your Tax Bill? Hedge-Fund Star John Paulson Owes $1 Billion [WSJ]
Although this story published last week, it seems perfect for today. John Paulson’s windfall from predicting the subprime mortgage crisis is finally having its tax day. He hasn’t had much success since then and has had to sell a lot of investments to shore up the cash to make good on this bill. Of course, the best part of the story is that the IRS does not accept checks of $100 million or greater, so one assumes that he has to cut at least 10 painful checks to make good.
No One’s Talking About the New Tax Law [NYT]
No one other than tax professionals, that is.
Ernst & Young teams with AIG on tax and tech [AT]
It seems EY has taken a page from PwC’s playbook, signing a “global tax compliance and technology operating agreement” with AIG, which includes “combination of managed tax services with the transfer of some AIG employees.” The five-year deal closed on February 5th and affected AIG tax people became EY tax people on March 31st.
Previously, on Going Concern…
In Open Items, someone asks: Is Leaving After 2 Busy Seasons A Resume Killer?
From the archives: KPMG Saves Employee’s Bowling Career. See also: What’s Barry Salzberg Doing While We’re Not Looking?
In other news:
- The ultimate guide to Tax Day deals
- Elon Musk’s Boring Co raises $112.5 million in funding, most from Musk
- Steve Ballmer’s “America’s Shareholder Meeting” is today at 1 pm ET.
- Teenagers wanted.
- A very high raccoon.
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