(NBCNEWS) — The recent flood of fraudulent tax returns -- both state and federal -- is the work of "a criminal gang, possibly working outside the country," a leading cyber security expert told NBC News.
Haywood Talcove, CEO for government solutions at LexisNexis, believes the gang is using stolen user names and passwords to gain access to the accounts of people who use online tax preparation software.
"This is potentially the most serious breach of personally identifiable information in the history of our country," Talcove said. "The tax form is the mother lode of personal information."
Advertisement - story continues below
