Identity Theft - Protecting Your Information

Tax-related identity theft usually involves the unauthorized use of a taxpayer's personal or business information to fraudulently claim a tax refund. Most taxpayers are unaware that they are victims until they receive notice from the IRS or another federal or state agency.

Fortunately, there are some easy ways to lower your risk of becoming another ID theft victim.

Put your privacy settings at the highest level on social networking websites

You should put your privacy settings at the highest level and not sharing facts like your exact birth date, including the year, or information that could be used to answer your security questions such as your mother's maiden name.

Maintain anti-virus and anti-malware software

Increasingly, identity thieves are using viruses and harmful programs known as malware to steal Americans' financial information. These programs can enter your personal computer in several different ways, the most common being email with links or attachments that when clicked on, install malware on your machine. From there, they can record keystrokes to mine passwords, hijack online banking sessions and probe your PC for financial information.
Beside keeping anti-virus and anti-malware software up to date, another way to prevent yourself from being hurt by malware is to keep the financial information on your PC limited. You should decline every time you're asked to save your password when you're logging on to a financial site.

Handle financial documents with care

Physical documents aren't as much of a threat as they once were, simply because stealing them from a mailbox or the trash can be dangerous work for thieves. Still, the key to minimizing the risk is storing needed documents carefully and destroying the ones you don't need.
"A shredder is your friend," says Steven Toporoff, attorney with the Federal Trade Commission's Division of Privacy and Identity Protection.
Certain documents need to be retained for tax and other purposes. Short of that, you should be shredding documents regularly that you no longer need, especially those that have any kind of account number or identifying information. Also, shred any kind of financial solicitations you get in the mail, especially those credit card offers containing blank checks.

Create strong passwords

In a world where online banking is increasingly ubiquitous and access to large chunks of your net worth is just a username and password away, having a strong password is important.
That's because once thieves have zeroed in on your email address or account username, they'll often try to guess your password, either manually or using a computer program to try thousands of passwords until they find the correct one.
To keep from becoming a victim of ID theft, stay away from obvious passwords. "12345" is just not a good password, Everybody has passwords that he can remember -- mnemonics or very personal things that are better passwords that aren't publicly known.
Incorporate spaces, special characters, and lowercase and uppercase letters. "Whatever your password is, (it) should not be a word that's found in the dictionary.

Be careful with unsecured Wi-Fi

It may be convenient to do online banking at a cafe or to keep your home Wi-Fi network unsecured to avoid typing a password, but criminals have become increasingly adept at intercepting unsecured Wi-Fi communications.
To protect yourself, put a password on your home Wi-Fi network and waiting until you get home or to another secured network to make financial transactions.

Don't be reeled in by phishing scams

To avoid becoming a victim, read emails carefully before clicking on links or attachments, especially if an email comes from out of the blue or asks for personal or financial information.
Instead of clicking on such links, you should contact the company directly, using contact information you know to be accurate.

Monitor credit and bank accounts closely

Checking your credit card and debit card statements online on a daily basis is a good way to limit the damage that fraudsters can do to your accounts.
To avoid being a victim of new-account fraud, get regular, free credit reports. Using this strategy will help you identify any new, unauthorized accounts that have been opened in your name.

Source: NATP Tax Pro Journal and Bankrate Finance

contact@officetaxservices.com

(858)247-1680