This is a summer 2024 contributed photo Tiffany Brogan, of Nitro, who says she and her husband may not receive their tax returns this year as a result of a data breach experienced by the City of Nitro.
Tiffany Brogan spent months browsing short-term rentals around Myrtle Beach, planning the honeymoon she and her husband had postponed since their wedding last August. With paid time off approved and the perfect rental lined up, all she needed was her tax refund to cover the trip.
This is a summer 2024 contributed photo Tiffany Brogan, of Nitro, who says she and her husband may not receive their tax returns this year as a result of a data breach experienced by the City of Nitro.
“We were supposed to go on our honeymoon next week,†Brogan said. "We were going to [save] our tax return, and we were going to use some of it for that.â€
But the refund never arrived.
Brogan said the IRS rejected her tax filing because her husband's W-2 information was compromised in a data security incident involving his employer, the City of Nitro.
'Concerned that our W2's were compromised'
In an internal email to employees dated Feb. 18, Natalie Wright, deputy treasurer for the city, acknowledged there were widespread problems with employee tax information.
“I am concerned that our W2’s were compromised,†Wright wrote. “Without further investigation, I do not know if it was the company I paid to complete the W2 process or not. This is a reputable company, which I have used before. I am not sure if it is a hack on a city computer, or with someone else that has access to our data, etc. I will try to do some more digging!â€
Wright informed staff that the compromised data included names, addresses and Social Security numbers — the core of what’s needed to file tax returns fraudulently.
“While that information is sensitive, to my knowledge it has ONLY been used to file returns and there have been no other instances of fraud reported to me,†she wrote.
Wright also said she planned to coordinate with the IRS to identify affected Social Security numbers. But Brogan said her family has yet to receive any direct notification from the city.
Employee's wife feels she's on her own with IRS
In a statement released to the Gazette-Mail on Friday, city representatives confirmed that Nitro became aware of a “data security incident†in January involving the fraudulent filing of tax returns on behalf of some city employees.
“The unauthorized actor obtained access to limited employees’ information, including names, addresses, Social Security numbers, and tax withholding data,†the statement said. “The incident was linked to an email fraud scheme, and external cybersecurity experts were engaged to investigate and confirm the city’s systems are currently secure.â€
The city said it notified employees and provided 12 months of complimentary identity monitoring, credit monitoring, fraud consultation and identity restoration services. Officials also said they’ve implemented additional safeguards to prevent future breaches.
Despite these steps, Brogan said her family has been left to navigate the IRS’s complex fraud procedures on her own.
“I just figured it all out by talking to the IRS,†she said. “We sent our return, but the IRS said it could take up to 580 days for our refund. The IRS said they have to investigate it.â€
For Brogan, that delay means her long-awaited honeymoon may not happen anytime soon.
City of Nitro officials neither provided information on how many employees' data was compromised during the breach nor how many of them have yet to receive their tax returns.
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