On Monday, the IRS revealed that a criminal syndicate’s massive theft of American taxpayer data was much worse than originally thought.
In May, the government agency said criminals used a tool on the IRS website to steal the tax forms of 104,000 people. It has revised that number up to 220,000.
The tax-collection agency said it realized the total number of victims was twice as high after it conducted “an extensive review covering the 2015 filing season.”
The IRS is now sending letters to those taxpayers to warn them about potential identity theft, offer free credit protection and give them an extra PIN to protect future tax filings.