Where there’s a will, there’s a way, and fraudsters will exploit it! There are a multitude of ways you can be lured into scams this tax season. Avoid becoming a victim of tax fraud with these tips: 

• Do not carry your social security card. Leave it at home, in a safe place and don’t carry any document that has your Social Security number (SSN) on it. 
• Keep your SSN private. Your SSN is critical when it comes to identifying you. Only provide it to others when absolutely necessary. 
• Create strong and unique passwords. It may be easy to create one password that fits the requirements of many websites and tools you log in to, but this practice puts you at greater risk. If one of those sites becomes compromised, it is much easier for bad actors to compromise other credentials. Be smart and use strong passwords that are unique for each resource you access. This will minimize headaches down the road if one of your passwords is compromised. 
• Beware of Phishing! Phishing emails come in all shapes and sizes. Emails that appear to be coming from the IRS requesting your urgent action or financial and/or personal information are fraudulent. The IRS will never request this information by email. Additionally, the IRS will not call you to tell you that you owe taxes. They will send a letter the old-fashioned way. 
• Shred Sensitive Documents. A good practice is to shred any documents with your personal information on them. This will help reduce the likelihood of tax fraud as well as identify theft. Not sure when or what to shred? Take a look at our recommendations on retention guidelines for various documents.

For more security articles, visit our Security Center.