TECH BYTE: Tips to Safely File Your Taxes Online

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF) — You’re running out of time to get those tax returns done.

If you’re filing online or on a smartphone app, make sure you’re doing it safely.

There are things you can do to keep from getting hacked.

“If you’ve not done it before, this is the year,” said Laurie Starcher, AT&T. “Go ahead, use your phone. Use your iPad, use your computer.”

This may not be much of a surprise, but more than half of Americans surveyed say they do their taxes online.

According to a survey done by OnePoll on behalf of Cricket Wireless, 52% rely on software or apps to file, while 36% do them by hand.

“Even the IRS is saying to file online,” Starcher said. “So it is really important that you make sure that you’re having a legitimate site that you’re using to file, whether that be the actual IRS, TurboTax, H&R Block. You really want to make sure and legitimize this site that you’re going to be putting a lot of personal information on.”

Starcher also recommends getting an ID pin number from the IRS.

“That is also a great way to ensure that you are using the right type of site, and putting the right information into it,” she said. “A third [thing you can do] is making sure that your software is secure.”

That means no public WiFi. Skip the coffee shop, and file at home.

“The last thing you want is for somebody to obtain that personal information of yours.”

Starcher says you still need a strong password when logging in to the application – even when filing at home.

“If you’re at home, you should have a strong security platform that you’re using,” she said. “If you’re in and out of that platform, whether it be through the app on your phone, or on your actual computer, that strong password can make such a difference between being vulnerable and open to being hacked, to actually making it so much harder.”

Starcher also notes that the IRS and TurboTax will never text or call you for any tax information. They’ll send a letter in the mail instead.

If you do get a text, don’t reply. Delete it and report it.

And even though there’s always a risk of getting hacked, Starcher still recommends filing online instead of by hand. It’s cheaper too.

“I can access my W-2 straight from online from AT&T,” Starcher said. “If you have your employee ID, typing it in, everything just goes in in an instant. So rather than how it used to be before, where you had to almost schedule an entire day to, you know, make an appointment with your accountant or get with your tax representative, now you can go at that convenience on your couch and file your taxes.”

If you do still get hacked, Starcher says to immediately contact the IRS, Social Security, and the service you used to file your taxes.

Also make sure your credit is frozen.