Tax Season Safety Tips To Combat Identity Theft

LOS ANGELES - March 12, 2013 - PRLog -- With tax season upon us, Scambook (http://scambook.com/), the online complaint resolution platform that has resolved $10 million in reported consumer damages to date, is looking out for the public’s identities and offering tips to protect them against identity theft.

“A lot of sensitive, private information is exchanged during tax season, which makes consumers extra vulnerable to identity theft. But consumers can protect themselves by learning about the safest ways to transfer their tax information,” says Kase Chong, the Director of Marketing at Scambook.

The following are five tips Scambook says the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recommends as precautions to protect consumers' personal identification during tax preparation:

1.    Know Who’s Helping: Work with someone familiar and, more importantly, trustworthy. If consumers are thinking of hiring a new accountant or commercial tax preparer, proper research must be conducted online. Be sure to read all reviews carefully and check for business complaints on Scambook.com.

2.    File Taxes ASAP: Filing sooner rather than later gives identity thieves less time to file tax returns using others’ personal Social Security numbers.

3.    Use Secure WiFi to E-File: If filing through TurboTax or another online program, be sure to send personal information through a secure password protected wireless Internet connection. No free public WiFi should be used.

4.    Mail Taxes Personally: Don’t put taxes in others' hands. Mail the information directly at the post office and cut out the middleman.

5.    Watch Out for IRS Email Scams: A huge red flag is an “IRS email” because the IRS does not contact the public electronically. Proper notification for personal information will only be sent through regular mail. Any email "from the IRS" asking for a consumers' information is most likely a phishing scam, so make sure to avoid this.

ABOUT SCAMBOOK

Scambook is an online complaint resolution platform dedicated to obtaining justice for victims of fraud with unprecedented speed and accuracy. By building communities and providing resources on the latest scams, Scambook arms consumers with the up-to-date information they need to stay on top of emerging schemes. Since its inception, Scambook has resolved over $10 million in reported consumer damages. For more information, visit scambook.com.