Theft of your W-2 Can Lead to Tax Fraud
It is tax-filing time of year, when fraudsters come out of the woodwork to victimize Americans.
Attackers can easily file a fake tax return, with fictitious figures, to receive a sizable check from the government and leaving you in dire straits.
Protect you W-2 forms and submit your return as early as possible, as it can be a race with the first one accepted being the winner.
Businesses must be very careful not to expose employee's W-2's to criminals. Expect hacking and phishing attempts to gain access to breach personnel records.
Here are some tips for businesses large and small:
- Limit the number of authorized personnel who can gain access to employees’ personal info and W-2’s * Set up two-factor or multi-factor verification systems to authenticate access to such sensitive information
- Establish protocols for sensitive information requests, without a dependency on email
- Encrypt sensitive Personally Identifiable Information and W-2 records
- Employ best practices to maintain a well defended compute environment, including anti-malware, firewalls, email and spam filters, as well as training your employees to not fall for phishing and report incidents quickly
Be safe and secure!
Image Source: The Chronicle Online
More information and good security advice can be found on Oregon FBI's Tech Tuesday site
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Tax time is doubly worse now. No only do I have to file taxes, I also have to worry about Tax ID fraud. It is like pouring salt into an already open wound.
Kinda feels like being run over twice.