IT'S OPEN SEASON ON ID THEFT. Identity theft is the fastest growing crime in America, and the average victim spends 175 hours and $1,000 repairing the damage. Tax time presents an even greater risk for ID theft because your personal information is everywhere. Below are tips to avoid becoming a victim this tax season.
Watch Your Mailbox: When income tax forms start coming in the mail, a potential ID thief can easily gain access to personal information such as your Social Security number and how much you make. You should consider dropping your tax returns into a USPS collection box or taking it directly to the post offfice.
Destroy Sensitive Material: Use a cross cut paper shredder to ensure that your documents are properly destroyed. If you use your computer to prepare any part of your tax return, a savvy identity thief could recover this information from your hard drive, even if you seemingly deleted the file. There is software available that will perform a "secure delate" of your sensitive files to ensure that they cannot be recovered.
Choose The Right Tax People: Find a tax preparation service that is dedicated and you can trust to provide year-round financial services to its clients. This way, you can ensure your personal information is in the hands of professionals.
Be Careful Online: If you plan to use an online tax service, ensure the site is reputable. Ensure all information is sent via a secure connection. Look for their security information and what other measures do they take to ensure added security.
These are just tips to follow, you can find other helpful information on identity theft at www.myidfix.com/identity-theft-cases-statistics.php
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