ALONE WALLAP PASSWORD
Use a phrase or series of words that can be easily remembered or use a password manager. Use strong and unique passwords for online accounts.This year, fraud scams related to COVID-19, Economic Impact Payments and other tax law changes are common.
Don’t open links or attachments on suspicious emails.
ALONE WALLAP SOFTWARE
Make sure anti-virus software for computers has a feature to stop malware, and there is a firewall enabled that can prevent intrusions.Protect electronic devices of family members, especially teens and young children. Don’t forget to use security software for computers, tablets and mobile phones – and keep it updated.The Security Summit mentioned by Miller offers these 10 steps to help you protect sensitive information: “We don’t want people to click on any attachments or links because that’s not the way the IRS does business.” It could look like it’s coming from the IRS, or your bank, but it’s a fake account,” said Miller. “They may look legitimate - they often do. Miller adds the scammers will likely reach out in a fraudulent way, such as e-mail, text or a social media post, and will ask you to click on an attachment or link that will take you to a fake website that will try and steal your information. In fact, in Wisconsin alone this year, the Federal Trade Commission reports 6,000 cases where there was identity theft or fraud related to those two terms alone: COVID or stimulus - and that resulted in about $6 million in losses to the people of Wisconsin, and a thousand of those cases are related to online shopping, so we want you to know this is a significant problem that isn’t going away, and to make sure people remain vigilant.” They’re using new ways like messaging, and buzz words like ‘COVID’ and ‘stimulus’. “The IRS Security Summit, which is a partnership between software providers and state agencies has been rather successful in ways to combat tax identity theft, but that means the crooks are looking for new ways to attract victims. “First of all, we always expect to see a spike in scams around the holiday season, but we’re expecting it to be worse this year, because we know the crooks are using new ways - new lures, new buzzwords, new ways to attract new victims,” said Miller. Now, consumer experts are looking ahead to tax season to see what things scammers are targeting, and aim to make it more secure for people.Īction 2 News discussed those items with Christopher Miller, the IRS spokesperson for Wisconsin, on the heels of National Tax Security Week. (WBAY) - During the last year, there has been an increase in scams, identity theft, ransomware and unemployment identity theft, so cyber criminals are hard at work.