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This tax season, millions of
Americans will file online. In the best circumstances it’s a fast,
easy, secure way to submit your tax forms and quickly get a rebate. In
the worst circumstances, it’s a fast, easy way to get defrauded and
have your identity stolen. Fortunately, a little vigilance and common
sense can go a long way toward keeping your identity safe. Here’s how.
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Recent discussion of an emergency
economic stimulus package have given fraudsters a new
opening. People have reported receiving phone calls from supposed IRS
representatives needing Social Security numbers, bank account numbers,
and other information so that their emergency refund could be
processed. Ignore these phone calls. The federal government already has
your Social Security number—remember, they’re the ones who issued it.
Similarly, the old garden variety,
non-“emergency” refund scam is also a
fraud. If you’ve filed your taxes, the IRS will have all the
information they need to send you your refund—and they never send out
unsolicited emails regarding tax-related matters.
A new twist on the old refund scam is
the audit scam, where a taxpayer gets a
personalized email preying on their fears of an audit. Because the
email is personalized, the recipient is more likely to think it’s
legitimate. It isn’t. Remember, the IRS will never send you
an unsolicited email.
If you’re filing online, chances are
you might have some of your important tax information stored on your
computer in Quicken files, Excel spreadsheets, or other formats. Make
sure your firewall, antivirus, and anti-spyware programs are all up to
date to prevent intrusions that could result in this information being
accessed and stolen.
For more information on tax scams and
identity security, see these articles from the Security
News Portal and the Identity
Theft Resource Center.
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