HI… TAX PROS. WE NEED YOUR HELP TO FIGHT BACK AGAINST IDENTITY THEFT. WHEN THIEVES STEAL CLIENT DATA FROM TAX PROS… THEY CAN FILE FAKE TAX RETURNS THAT ARE HARD TO DETECT. HERE'S HOW YOU CAN PROTECT YOUR CLIENTS…AND PROTECT YOUR BUSINESS. WE'RE ASKING ALL TAX PROFESSIONALS…WHETHER A ONE-PERSON SHOP OR A BIG PARTNERSHIP…TO TAKE SOME TIME TO ASSESS YOUR SECURITY POLICIES. TO HELP…THE I-R-S…STATES AND THE TAX INDUSTRY CREATED A TAXES-SECURITY-TOGETHER CHECKLIST TO SERVE AS A BASIC GUIDE. NUMBER ONE ON OUR CHECKLIST IS… PROTECT YOUR SYSTEMS. THIS MEANS USING ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE… FIREWALLS AND TWO-FACTOR AUTHENTICATION. IT MEANS BACKING UP YOUR FILES AND ENCRYPTING YOUR DATA. NUMBER TWO… CREATE A DATA SECURITY PLAN. THIS ISN'T AN OPTION. IT'S THE LAW. YOU MUST HAVE A WRITTEN PLAN TO PROTECT CLIENT DATA. THREE… EDUCATE YOURSELF ABOUT PHISHING SCAMS. MOST THEFTS START WITH AN EMAIL. FOUR… LEARN THE SIGNS OF I-D THEFT. FOR INSTANCE… ARE YOUR CLIENTS SUDDENLY GETTING I-R-S NOTICES? AND FINALLY… CALL THE I-R-S IF YOU EXPERIENCE A DATA THEFT. WE CAN HELP YOUR CLIENTS. MAKE CALLING THE I-R-S PART OF YOUR DATA LOSS RECOVERY PLAN. GO TO I-R-S DOT GOV SLASH IDENTITY THEFT FOR THE TAXES-SECURITY-TOGETHER CHECKLIST.
