Not all of these losses are from phishing attacks and the educational campaign covers the wide variety of threats from criminals seeking to steal information from preparers.

Called "Don't Take the Bait", the latest round of information is part of the Security Summit effort in the "Protect Your Clients, Protect Yourself" campaign, which reminds preparers of the dangers and their legal requirement to protect taxpayer information.

"We continue to see new and evolving threats involving data breaches, intrusions and various takeovers that put people's personal information at risk," said IRS Commissioner John Koskinen. "These efforts are increasingly targeting tax professionals and businesses with tax information."

Phishing scams try to trick preparers into opening infected links or attachments or disclosing usernames and passwords to critical accounts. Criminals want to steal taxpayer data and preparers' e-Services passwords, Electronic Filing Identification Numbers, Centralized Authorization File numbers and Preparer Tax Identification Numbers.

The "Don't Take the Bait" series focuses security awareness, emphasizing the various types of phishing scams.

A 10-week series of news releases, which began this week, also will outline steps tax professionals can take to protect clients and businesses from attacks. It ends on September 12 and covers spear phishing emails, business identity theft, account takeovers, ransomware attacks, remote takeovers, business email compromises and EFIN thefts.

The campaign also offers tips from the IRS, the FBI and the National Institute for Standards and Technology, which sets cybersecurity frameworks followed by government agencies, including the IRS.