IRS Posted 100K Social Security Numbers Online: Watchdog

As if the IRS didn't have enough on its plate. Now, the agency has accidentally posted thousands of Social Security numbers—perhaps 100,000, according to one observer—on a federal website. The IRS confirmed the story, initially spotted by Public.Resource.Org. The IDs were posted on a database of political groups called 527s, which are tax-exempt. After Public.Resource.Org noted the problem, it told the agency; the next day, the site was shut down.

The group picked up on the issue when reviewing an "improperly vetted shipment" of IRS data DVDs, it says. "It is time now for the administration to send a tiger team over to the (IRS) to help fix their information management practices," Public.Resource.Org's founder tells Fox News. The revealed Social Security numbers mostly belonged to donors to the political groups, with a few belonging to accountants. (More IRS stories.)