How to Stay Secure - Part 1

          This is the busiest shopping season of the year. As a result, criminals are doing their best to find ways to steal your sensitive personal information. Another time they try to do this is during tax filing season from January to April. However, according to a recent security report from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), even if someone doesn’t file a tax return, their online interactions can reveal that same data and often it is used to try and get a fraudulent tax refund. How can we protect ourselves?

          There are some basic steps that we can all take. Make sure that there is security software on all your devices and that it stays updated. Avoid the trap of phishing scams. These are the messages that seem to be from a legitimate source, but they ask for your personal information. They might claim to have information about Economic Impact Payments, Child Tax Credits, or other law changes. Remember that the IRS will never text, message you on social media, or email you asking for your personal information. When shopping online, only use websites that have https in the address and a padlock icon. This proves that the website can be trusted. Our next post will share more details on how we can stay aware of our security.

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