identity theft advice for tax returns

We are rapidly coming into the busiest months for bad credit car sales. That’s because a large number of consumers with bad credit use their income tax refund as a down payment.

http://liarcatchers.com/identity_theft_investigation.html

We should know because since 1992 we’ve been helping applicants with bad credit find a dealer that can get them financed here at Auto Credit Express. A website we developed also allows applicants to research topics like repossession and interest rates as well as today’s issue, identity theft.

Income tax refunds

The idea of using your income tax refund for the down payment on a new car is a great idea. Of course, we’re in the car business so why wouldn’t we think that? But no matter what you plan on using your tax refund for, we also want to be sure that, number one, you get your refund and, number two, you don’t share your personal information with an identity thief.

That’s why we want to share with you some information from DigitalPersona regarding some common sense tips you can follow with many of your online accounts both during and after income tax season. So here they are:

• Use strong, unique passwords for all your online accounts. Having a single password for multiple sites increases your risk of identity theft. Not sure how secure your passwords are? At-a-glance password rating systems will let you know in moments whether you are truly protected.

• Safely keep track of passwords, especially those that aren’t used very often. Don’t write them down on “sticky notes” or leave them in an unprotected file on your computer. Today’s cyber thieves specifically search files and the places where browsers store “remembered” passwords.

• Ensure that only you can use your passwords by tying them to your fingerprint. Fingerprint readers are already available on over 30 percent of laptops and can be easily added to any PC.

• Protect against phishing attacks hidden behind false tax preparation or bank Web pages. Look for “hacker proof” or “secured” symbols on the Web site before logging on.

• Encrypt important personal files, such as tax returns or other sensitive documents, to safeguard against hacking attempts.

• Keep all anti-virus, malware, and other computer security products up to date to remain on top of the latest Trojan, “keyloggers” and other threats.

• Secure yourself, not just your PC. Seek out software that specifically protects you when your personal identity information is handed to authorized web sites.

According to Jim Fulton, Vice president of marketing at Digital Persona, tax season is “a time when we all need to take extra care of our online identities. Our complete financial lives are handed over to Web-based tax preparation sites, which do take strong measures to keep information secure. But, it is up to each of us to keep this confidential data safe on our own PCs and to protect our online tax accounts against hackers.”

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