With the tax filing deadline less than three weeks away, we’re entering the busiest time of the tax season according to the IRS. Last year, almost 95 million people e-filed their tax returns. That was over 67 percent of the total population that filed taxes in the United States. Included in the total of e-filers were 32 million people who e-filed by a home computer.
With that many people doing their taxes online or having a tax preparer do it for them, AVG Technologies is warning of a last minute wave of targeted attacks centered around tax season by scammers.
How to protect yourself?
- It’s important to remember that the IRS doesn’t discuss tax matters with people via e-mail… EVER! Don’t supply your personal information: Social Security Number, credit card, etc., to anyone e-mailing you for it.
- If you are downloading IRS forms and documents from the Web, visit only sites that you know are reputable and use a scanning program to ensure the sites are safe before you click.
- Utilize a multi-layered security software that combines web security and anti-virus to protect you and your computer; most threats these days come from the web, and not from emailed viruses or Trojans
- Don’t open attachments or follow links in unsolicited e-mails such as “Click Here to See Your Refund Amount From the IRS.” The IRS does not send attachments.
- Over 60 percent of all attacks are aimed at Adobe. Because of the popular exploits against Adobe, PDF files can be malicious. DO NOT open PDF attachments in unsolicited e-mails.