Protecting Your Tax Return Made Easy
Tax season is in full force which means most of the country is preparing their tax returns and the necessary business documents required of them by law for either their accountant/CPA or via an online platform. An important (and often overlooked) step when preparing your tax return is to relay important employer information, such as a W-2 / W-4 / or 1099 form, to your accountant/CPA in a secure manner.
Most people in the coming weeks will log in to their standard Yahoo! or Gmail account to email the attached files over, which makes sense in the day and age of the internet, because hand-delivering said documents is far too cumbersome. But it’s this misstep that could jeopardize your bank accounts, your credit, and your financial livelihood. Sending your information via a standard email platform is a risky, unsafe way to transfer these documents. Hackers in 2018 have the ability to see each and every email message being sent from a standard email platform, which means your confidential documents are now floating in the digital wind, waiting for the next person to look.
Unfortunately, the onus lies heavy on the customer to take control in protecting their own documents. If your accountant or CPA hasn’t taken the necessary steps to ensure that you can transfer your documents securely to them, you need to take the initiative yourself to ensure that that’s just what happens. And then you need to question why they aren’t more concerned about protecting your information.
So, I’m sure you’re wondering HOW exactly do I go about protecting my information? It’s quite simple…
Taking The First Step…
• First, you’ll need to select a Secure Email Solution that will allow you to send and receive secure emails (including attachments) in a simple, protected manner. We suggest a solution that gives you the ability to send from any mobile device or web browser. And one that allows you to send an unlimited number of secure email messages… no solution should be restricting the number of messages you’re capable of sending.
• Second, you’ll want to look for a solution that offers customer support located in the United States. We recommend a company that offers both phone and online chat support for yourself and any of your email recipients. This is often what sets the solutions that have your best interests in mind apart from those that only want your money.
• Third, you should always look for a solution that is easy to use. Some solutions make the process so difficult for your end-users to open the secure email messages, that it’s really not worth the headache. If your CPA or accountant can’t get to your tax returns then what’s the point of even having sent them via secure email?
• Last, you want a solution that sits in the right price-point for a single user — a solution whose benefits justify the cost. We would recommend a solution between the $7 to $10 per month range. If a Netflix subscription is worth the $10 you shell out per month, shouldn’t a security solution that will protect your financial and digital identity be worth that and more?
Whether you choose our Secure Email Solution or another, it truly doesn’t matter. We want you to be aware of the risks that come with sending your email messages across standard email platforms like Google or Hotmail. It’s not worth risking your entire identity to save yourself a few clicks or to save your wallet the cost equivalent of your Netflix subscription. This is your personal identity, your finances, your family’s livelihood that we’re talking about. This is serious business… take a few minutes, do some research on the solutions that exist, and purchase a secure email solution subscription to ensure your own safety.
I welcome you to try NeoCertified during this tax season for free for the next 7-days. We require no credit card information and we’re here to help you every step of the way.
Written by Peter J. Schaub.
President & CEO, NeoCertified
