In reading the title of today’s edition, many a reader while sipping a cup of morning coffee or tea – with a grimace – may say,
- “No %%%, Sherlock. Yes, it’s tax season.”
Today’s edition will be brief but contains a critical message with more in-depth information to follow next week.
Tax season is when sophisticated, professional hackers prey heavily on the financial lives of busy, organized families and individuals. Think about it: from now until April 15th, the most sensitive of personal financial information is being exchanged by US postal mail, email – and for the unassuming, by text. Lesson to the wise: do NOT exchange sensitive financial information by text; and use encrypted email and secure portals to exchange all information with tax professionals.
Sensitive, personal information includes but is not limited to:
- Driver’s licenses
- Prior years’ tax filings
- Brokerage and financial institution 1099s
- W-2 documents
- PDF documents containing anything financial
- Phone photos of anything regarding a financial statement.
This week marked nearly the (it seems) 1000th example of hacking by text message involving a “toll road fine”. Please do not respond to text messages asking for credit card numbers to pay toll road fines. These are phishing scams, and in the midst of tax season can elevate to credit card and identity theft.
Just coming off minor but serious eye surgery may have given me better vision – and the ability to slow down just enough to SEE the craziness of tax season. Please remember to stop and ask, “Do I need to respond NOW to this request for financial information? Or would it be better to pick up the phone and call my CPA or financial adviser to ask for advice?”
This material has been prepared for informational purposes only and is not intended to provide, and should not be relied upon for, tax, legal or accounting advice.