As various state departments scramble in the waning days of Cybersecurity Awareness Month here in October, the State Treasury Department is joining the fray warning taxpayers and businesses to be prepared to fight tax-related identity theft.
Following Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s proclamation making October Michigan’s Cybersecurity Awareness Month, the Michigan Department of Treasury is asking Michiganders to be cybersecurity aware in the face of tax-related ID theft.
Cybercriminals are consistently using new tricks and tactics online to obtain personal information so they can fraudulently file state income tax returns and claim refunds on behalf of unsuspecting taxpayers. Often, the taxpayer is already a victim of identity theft when a cybercriminal attempts to claim their state tax refund.
State Treasurer Rachael Eubanks says, “Cybercriminals are getting more and more sophisticated in their schemes to steal from taxpayers,” and adds, “If you have questions about your taxes or suspect you may be a victim of tax-related identity theft, always feel free to contact us for assistance.”
To be cybersecurity aware and prepared to fight tax-related identity theft:
- Only connect to the Internet over secure, password-protected networks.
- Do not click on links or pop-ups, open attachments or respond to emails from individuals you don’t know.
- If you are unsure of the email sender, type a website name by hand rather than clicking on an embedded link.
- Do not respond to online requests for personally identifiable information. Most organizations—banks, universities, companies, Treasury—do not ask for your personal information over the Internet.
- Limit who you share information with by reviewing the privacy settings of your social media accounts.
- Trust your intuition. If you think an offer is too good to be true, then it probably is.
- Password-protect all user accounts and devices that connect to the Internet.
- Do not use the same password twice. Choose a password that means something to you and you only. Change your password on a regular basis.
- If something seems suspicious, report it to the proper authorities.
As an additional layer of taxpayer protection, Treasury sends confirmation quiz letters to help prevent the loss of state income tax refunds.
Since 2017, Treasury’s increased security measures through the quiz have protected more than 5,000 taxpayers who confirmed their identity was stolen and had been used to request state of Michigan refunds. This prevented nearly $20 million from being fraudulently distributed.
Taxpayers should follow the directions if a confirmation quiz letter is received. To learn more about tax-related identity theft, you can go to www.michigan.gov/identitytheft or follow the state Treasury Department on Twitter at @MITreasury.
