Some Americans Confess They’d Rather Get a Root Canal Than Do Their Taxes
05 Abril 2017 - 8:00AM
Business Wire
Procrastination may be putting taxpayers at
risk for tax-related identity fraud
LifeLock, a Symantec company and leading provider of proactive
identity theft protection services, today unveiled findings from
its recent survey* conducted online by Harris Poll, examining
individual sentiment about paying taxes and awareness of
tax-related identity fraud.
Since Americans seem to genuinely dislike having to file and pay
taxes, many procrastinate on getting them done, but delaying might
put taxpayers at greater risk for identity fraud—when someone uses
a person’s stolen personal information to file and claim a tax
return. The March survey found that:
- Nearly a quarter of Americans say they
tend to wait until the last minute to file taxes, with baby boomers
ages 55-64 more likely than younger generations to procrastinate
(32 percent vs. 20 percent of those ages 18-54).
- Roughly one in six Americans (16
percent), especially Millennial men ages 18-34 (29 percent), would
rather get a root canal than do their taxes.
- More than one in three Americans (35
percent) feel that filing taxes is worse than having to floss.
“Much like having dental work done, filing taxes can be a
painful experience—especially if you become a victim of tax-related
identity fraud,” said Joe Gervais, LifeLock’s security
communications director. “Submitting fraudulent tax returns in your
name and claiming the refund is a relatively easy thing for
criminals to do, so the earlier you file, the less likely someone
else may beat you to the punch.”
For criminals, tax-fraud is the ultimate crime to commit,
explains Eva Velasquez, president and CEO of the Identity Theft
Resource Center. “It’s easy for the criminal to mask their location
in order to avoid ever being caught, and it’s also physically safer
to commit than many other forms of crimes. The potential payoff of
tax fraud is far more than many criminals could ever hope to make
with other run-of-the-mill crimes.”
So what does a criminal need to file a fake tax return?
Unbeknownst to many, all a thief needs is a person’s Social
Security number, name, and date of birth to file a fake tax return.
This information is often stolen from data breaches and email
phishing scams.
Tax refund fraud is one of the biggest challenges facing the
IRS. In 2016, the IRS identified approximately $4.1 billion in
suspected identity theft related to tax-refund fraud. Still, it’s
not a crime that many Americans recognize, according to the
LifeLock survey. In fact, 27 percent of Americans said they have
never heard of tax-related identity fraud prior to participating in
the survey, including 36 percent of Millennials ages 18-34.
“It’s nearly impossible to detect tax-related identity fraud
before a person files their taxes but there are ways to help
protect yourself,” said Gervais. “Taxpayers need to be careful
about what personal information they share online and with
financial institutions since any shared personal data can
potentially be stolen and used to commit tax-related identity
fraud.”
The good news is there are actions individuals can take to
secure their personal information:
- Contact the IRS to see if you’re
eligible for an Identity Protection PIN which is a six-digit code
assigned to you by the IRS to help prevent misuse of your social
security number on fraudulent federal income tax returns.
- Watch out for fake “phishing” emails
disguised as sent by the IRS, and if you receive one, forward it to
phishing@irs.gov. The IRS will never contact you by email, text, or
social media. If the IRS needs information, it will contact you by
regular mail.
- Don’t use public Wi-Fi hotspots to file
your tax returns online. Just because a public Wi-Fi hotspot
requires a password does not mean that your data is safe from an
attacker on the same network.
- Monitor your credit cards for
unauthorized charges, as well as your credit report for new
accounts that you didn’t open. Fraudulent activity may indicate
that you’re at higher risk of further fraud, including stolen tax
refunds.
- Store copies of tax returns in a safe
place and shredding all paper documents no longer needed such as
tax paperwork older than four years.
*This survey was conducted online within the United States by
Harris Poll on behalf of LifeLock from March 16-20, 2017 among
2,198 U.S. adults ages 18 and older. This online survey is not
based on a probability sample and therefore no estimate of
theoretical sampling error can be calculated. For complete survey
methodology, including weighting variables, please contact
media@lifelock.com and for more tips
about reducing the risk for tax-related and other identity fraud,
visit LifeLock’s blog.
About Symantec
Symantec Corporation (NASDAQ: SYMC), the world’s leading cyber
security company, helps organizations, governments and people
secure their most important data wherever it lives. Organizations
across the world look to Symantec for strategic, integrated
solutions to defend against sophisticated attacks across endpoints,
cloud and infrastructure. Likewise, a global community of more than
50 million people and families rely on Symantec’s Norton and
LifeLock product suites to protect their digital lives at home and
across their devices. Symantec operates one of the world’s largest
civilian cyber intelligence networks, allowing it to see and
protect against the most advanced threats. For additional
information, please visit www.symantec.com or connect
with us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
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LifeLockSydney Brown(415)
767-7760Media@lifelock.comorDKCStephanie Cirigliano(415)
549-8437Stephanie_Cirigliano@dkcnews.com
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