Don’t Be Fooled This Tax Season

Happy April everyone. As I look out the window this morning to the 40 degrees and rain, it’s clear that Spring has arrived in Wisconsin. On the bright side, this cold, wet weather means that the summer we all love so much is right around the corner.

With these April showers also comes tax season, so I wanted to take a moment to discuss an issue that is becoming more and more serious. There are multiple ways where individual taxpayers have been tricked into providing personal information including social security numbers and even banking information, which has led to their tax refund being stolen. Please remember that the IRS or any other agency (including ours) would not just send an email out of the blue asking for this information. As a general rule of thumb, you should not be emailing this type of information in any situation. It’s a much better practice to give personal information including social security, banking, and credit card information only over the phone to somebody with a confirmed identity. We have included a blog with more detailed information below.

Most carriers do offer some form of identity theft coverage, and in most cases they will cover the cost associated with getting the issue straightened out such as legal fees, lost time at work, etc. Some carriers even partner with outside firms and cover the money lost as well.

If you would like to learn more, give your agent a call to review that coverage. As always, thank you for the opportunity to protect your families.