Don’t Get Cyber Hacked! New Tips for Staying Safe!

Scammers can 'spoof' a familiar phone number

Never give out any personal information on the phone.

Go directly to your financial institution if you feel you have been compromised.

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Online safety tips

• Recognize scams and report phishing. It’s important to remember that the IRS does not use unsolicited email and social media to discuss personal tax issues, such as those involving tax refunds, payments or tax bills. Don't reply, open any attachments or click any links. To report phishing, send the full email headers or forward the email as is to phishing@irs.gov; do not forward screenshots or scanned images of emails because this removes valuable information. Then delete the email.
• Protect personal information. Refrain from revealing too much personal information online. Birthdates, addresses, age, and financial information, such as bank accounts and Social Security numbers, are among things that should not be shared freely. Encrypt sensitive files such as tax records stored on computers.
• Use strong passwords. Consider using a password manager to store passwords.
• Enable multi-factor authentication (MFA). Use this for extra security on online accounts.
• Use and update computer and phone software. Enable automatic updates to install critical security updates, including anti-virus and firewall protections.
• Use a VPN. Criminals can intercept personal information on insecure public Wi-Fi networks. Individuals are encouraged to always use a virtual private network (VPN) when connecting to public Wi-Fi.