Kick Off Tax Identity Theft Awareness Week with these Tips

To help kick off this important week in security awareness, we’re offering you our tips for tax identity theft protection.

Identity theft is a major issue facing people across the nation. With the rate at which security breaches are being announced, we must be as vigilant as possible about protecting our personal data and not falling victim to schemes from bad actors.

According to one report, 16.7 million people in the U.S. were victims of identity theft in 2017. That number is only set to rise and with tax season looming as now’s prime time for hackers and criminals to attempt fraudulent activities.

In light of the critical need to stop identity theft in its tracks and the fact that tax season can be an especially vulnerable time, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has dedicated a week to bringing awareness to tax identity theft.

To help kick off this important week, we’re offering you our tips and reminders for tax identity theft protection.

Password Protection is Critical

The days of picking the same password across sites online is far behind us. Today breaches that steal e-mail, password and even social security number combinations are far too common. You can no longer plan to use the same password for every site you have an account with. Especially if those sites store financial information. Using a password management service to not only store your account passwords safely but allowing them to choose hard to decipher randomized passwords is a critical step.

Use the Internet Wisely

Even with all of the innovations that internet connectivity has brought to the world, it’s also a very dangerous playground with criminals lurking in the most unsuspecting places. Create a strong defense against security issues by navigating the Web wisely. Don’t click on suspicious links, fall victim to phishing e-mails or connect to public WiFi networks, especially when doing financial transactions online. Be cautious of the sites you use and be sure to check for security seals and SSL certificates on all sites.

Shred and Dispose of Documents Responsibly

Document destruction is a critical step in protecting your identity. Leaving behind traces of data with your personal information is much too risky. Hard drive destruction and document shredding services help ensure that files are destroyed and demolished without being intercepted in the process.

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