17 days left and counting. My husband is working on the taxes this weekend, and we’re keeping our fingers crossed for a few dollars back in our pockets this year. That’s not the only thing we have to think about during tax season, it’s also prime time for identity theives!
Fortunately for tax payers, the IRS has recently stepped up efforts to protect against identity theft by improving their identity theft screening filters to spot fraud. Unfortunately, there are several ways identity thieves can commit tax fraud and abuse your personal information. Plus, many consumers may file online and store tax returns on their computers. This makes these returns more vulnerable to theft if your computer gets stolen.
LifeLock protects personal information year round, but tax fraud is only monitored by the IRS. To reduce your risk of identity theft related tax fraud, we recommend taking a few extra steps.
1. Beware of a tax preparer who does not have references or is new to the industry. Look into your tax preparer’s history and make sure that they are trusted and will be around to answer tax questions months and years after you file your return.
2. Once your tax preparer is done, you should always review your return before you sign it and ask questions on entries you don’t understand. Even if you trust your tax preparer, you should make sure you understand every single part of it, since you are solely responsible if anything goes wrong.
3. If you’ve received a letter from the IRS saying that you have filed two returns or that you have reported income that you haven’t received, take it seriously! First verify that you have the correct contact info for the IRS using the http://www.irs.gov/ website.
4. If you’re using an online tax return, you should make sure that the password includes letters, numbers, and other characters, like punctuation marks. A strong password is a strong defense when using an online tax return. While it may take more effort to memorize, it’ll be worth it to keep your personal and financial information safe.
5. Don’t open emails you receive with tax related documents and links. These links or downloads could be malware designed to infect your computer.
6. Not all electronic filing services are trustworthy. Make sure they are registered on the IRS Website.
7. Keep an eye on your computer. With so many tax returns stored on computers, it’s important to keep your laptop from falling into the wrong hands.
Lifelock has provided me with this information as part of their brand ambassador program. I am compensated for my time. I am also a Lifelock member, and opinions are always my own.
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