With tax season upon us, it’s important to remember that there are always opportunists ready to defraud honest, hardworking taxpayers like you.
A common scheme involves filing a false tax return with a stolen Social Security number, a scenario that happened to some TMA members a few years ago.
To help protect you and your practice, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) offers some tips on its Taxpayer Guide to Identity Theft webpage, including:
- Always use security software with firewall and antivirus protections. Use strong passwords.
- Learn to recognize and avoid phishing emails, threatening calls, and texts from thieves posing as legitimate organizations such as banks, credit card companies, and even the IRS.
- Do not click on links or download attachments from unknown or suspicious emails.
- Protect your personal data. Don’t routinely carry your Social Security card, and make sure your tax records are secure.
It is also a good idea to file your tax return as early as possible so the real tax return makes it to the IRS before a false one does.
Services designed to monitor and protect your identity include LifeLock, a Texas Medical Association preferred vendor, which offers TMA members a 20-percent discount to enroll.
Last Updated On
July 20, 2023
Originally Published On
January 30, 2018