When we think of tax season, the first things that may come to mind are cash, refunds and checks, but what we should really be focusing on are the harsh realities that sometimes come with it: fraud, scams and identity theft.
As if tax season wasn’t complicated enough, we now have to worry about our personal information being hacked. With the recent data breaches that have taken place, criminals are finding it easier than ever to swipe our identities right out from under us. However, there are tips we can follow in order to keep our personal information safe this tax season. Here are three important ones:
1) File Early
Not only will you get your money back at a faster rate, you will also beat the criminals to the punch before they can take your personal information to use for themselves and commit tax fraud under your name. E-filing has proven to be both a convenient and safer method when filing and is encouraged.
2) Shred personal documents
Protect your personal information by shredding all documents that hold sensitive information on them once deemed unnecessary. Criminals will spare no expense on diving into the trash to retrieve your personal papers. This process can save you a lot of time and trouble in the long run.
3) Monitor your movement
It is always smart to have a backup plan and by signing up for something like LifeLock, a service that specializes in identity theft protection, you can have a whole team behind you providing piece of mind when it comes to the fear of not knowing if or when you may fall victim to a scam.
For more tips to follow check out the graphic below.
Keith, I wish I could file earlier, but brokerage companies have more time to produce their 1099’s. Once I get it in mid to late February, it will often change once or twice by April. If I file early then, technically I would have to amend. It seems like in our world of high tech transaction systems, brokerage firms could get out one correct 1099 by 1/31. Thoughts? Tom
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Hi DD,
I’m in the same boat as you. I try and file my taxes as late as possible because of all the corrected 1099s that come my way. If you are invested in an MLP it can be worse. I remember getting corrected K1 forms after the tax deadline from EPD, PAA and even KMP. I have no idea how that could change. Thanks for sharing.
Great information. I too was affected by one of those data breaches and dealing with identity theft is such a pain. I did consider life lock at one point, but the thought of another monthly payment didn’t see well with me. But, it may be time to consider it again. It’s kind of like having insurance. Kind of.
I just did a quick search on their pricing and it doesn’t seem bad. Definitely something to consider.
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Hi DP,
It’s crazy how much fraud and identity theft exists these days. It seems like a never ending cat and mouse game. I guess having some kind of monitoring can help and if that monthly fee you pay includes some sort of coverage, like insurance, to get your life back in order it can be worth it. Thank you for commenting.