How To File Secure Tax Returns
Monday, March 12, 2012, 3:00 AM | Leave Comment
You still have a little more than a month to file your taxes. The IRS Tax filing deadline for 2012 is on Tuesday, April 17. Every year, especially in recent years, with the advent of technology and Internet use in abundance, the scammers and identity thieves come to life with full force. Every year they come back with more and better scams with lots of sugar-coated words that many folks fall for.
Tax time is one especially important time of the year and is rife with opportunities to steal your identity. Sometimes they are successful in getting it with all the hoopla and the fear that many blogs – including Doable Finance – present to the consumers.
You can easily, with no major effort, hinder fraud attempts by following some good and obvious tips for safer filing. Never use the following methods of filing your taxes, except the U.S. Postal Service:
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Public wireless networks
These days an ever increasing number of folks have smart phones with Internet access. Because of their ease of use and readily available anywhere and anytime, you are tempted to use them but please don’t use them to prepare and file your tax returns.
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Email
If you receive email that claims to be from the Internal Revenue Service or state and local tax collectors, rest assured that it involves some kind of scam. Don’t reply, open attachments or click on any link inside the email.
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Fax
Never fax your financial information to your tax preparer. Instead always mail sensitive documents like tax returns. If you are in a hurry, you can scan documents and email them to your tax preparer.
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Use the U.S. Postal Service
The best method is to always use the blue U.S. Postal Service drop box or post office. You can also directly hand them over to your route regular postal carrier.
In a Nutshell
Never ever provide any personal information, especially Social Security numbers, to phone callers. You may authenticate received letters by calling the IRS at 1-800-829-1040. If you are hearing impaired, call 1-800-829-4059.
