In an effort to better protect taxpayers from identify theft and tax return fraud, the IRS will release its new alert system this coming year. The Identity Theft Tax Refund Fraud Information Sharing and Analysis Center – ISAC for short – is expected to aid in the catching of fraud schemes in their early stages. Members of the system will be able to communicate with each other over the secure platform, alerting one another to potential threats and gaining footholds on scams early on. Along with enhanced password requirements and new steps to protect business tax filers as well, the IRS has decided to add 37 new screening points during the processing of incoming returns. With these new data screenings, the IRS will be better able to distinguish between fraudulent and true returns.