February 6th, 2020 by WCBC Radio

West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey reminds taxpayers to exercise great caution this tax season by protecting their personal, identifiable information when preparing and filing their tax returns.
 
Sensitive information such as Social Security numbers, finances, birthdays and addresses are some of the many things scammers could easily use to their advantage.
 
“Scammers will take any chance they get to snatch your sensitive, personal, identifiable information,” Attorney General Morrisey said. “It’s always important to guard your data, but especially important at this time of year as scammers know tax season affects everyone. Taxpayers should also remember that studies show those more likely to steal your information aren’t strangers, but people you know.”
 
Consumers can greatly reduce the risk of fraud by filing their return well before the deadline. This gives thieves less time to file a false return since IRS records would show a return in the consumer’s name has already been filed. They also should use a secure Internet connection and never file their return via publicly available Wi-Fi.