A Tax Warning for This Time of the Year

     All Taxpayers and even Tax Professionals need to be very careful during this time of year. It is the time when scams and identity theft concerns grow to one of the highest points of the year. When you add to that holiday shopping and COVID-19 related schemes, this is a combination that has never been experienced before.

    With the increase of working from home, there are new vulnerabilities that may be exposed. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) along with state tax agencies to get the word out about what everyone can do to protect themselves. This is especially important since Tax Season will be upon us sooner rather than later. Some simple things to remember are to keep an eye out for phishing scams (imposter emails and texts). These are the #1 way criminals compromise security. Many of them are now related to COVID-19 and Economic Impact Payments (EIP). Use security programs on your phones and computers – and make sure it is updated.

    Only shop at websites that start with “https”, the “s” stands for secure communication, and there will also be a padlock icon. Make sure to have a strong password for your online accounts and home Wi-Fi. In our connected world, these are all access points for thieves. Make sure you have a backup for your files, either using a cloud service or an external hard drive, which will make the process of recovering data much easier. If working from home is the best option, then creating a Virtual Private Network (VPN) to securely connect to your workplace may be the best option.

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