104,000 taxpayers have personal info stolen from IRS website

May 27, 2015 at 3:14 a.m. | Updated May 27, 2015 at 3:20 a.m.

by Associated Press

FILE - In this April 13, 2014 file photo, the Internal Revenue Service Headquarters (IRS) building is seen in Washington. Thieves used an online service provided by the IRS to gain access to information from more than 100,000 taxpayers, the agency said Tuesday. The information included tax returns and other tax information on file with the IRS. The IRS said the thieves accessed a system called "Get Transcript." In order to access the information, the thieves cleared a security screen that required knowledge about the taxpayer, including Social Security number, date of birth, tax filing status and street address. (AP Photo/J. David Ake, File)
FILE - In this April 13, 2014 file photo, the Internal Revenue Service Headquarters (IRS) building is seen in Washington. Thieves used an online service provided by the IRS to gain access to information from more than 100,000 taxpayers, the agency said Tuesday. The information included tax returns and other tax information on file with the IRS. The IRS said the thieves accessed a system called "Get Transcript." In order to access the information, the thieves cleared a security screen that required knowledge about the taxpayer, including Social Security number, date of birth, tax filing status and street address. (AP Photo/J. David Ake, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) - The IRS says more than 100,000 taxpayers have had their personal tax information stolen from an agency website.

Officials said the breach was part of an elaborate scheme to claim fraudulent tax refunds.

The information was stolen from an online system called "Get Transcript." The system allows taxpayers to get tax returns and other tax filings from previous years.

In order to access the information, the thieves cleared a security screen that required knowledge about the taxpayer, including Social Security number, date of birth, tax filing status and street address.

The IRS said it is notifying taxpayers whose information was accessed. The IRS is providing them with credit monitoring services.

The IRS has launched a criminal investigation. The agency's inspector general is also investigating.

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