Gadgetory

tax season in the u.s. is becoming a haven for hackers a growing percentage of tax refunds are going to hackers filing fake returns on behalf of taxpaying citizens like you and me jerks the IRS expects over 150 million returns once tax season ends some of those returns have refunds attached to them this year's average refund is $2,900 that's incredibly enticing to fraudsters looking to make a quick buck they're using phishing and email scams to gather information file your tax returns before you do steal your refund and then disappear before you or the IRS knows anything has gone wrong an IBM security report found tax themed spam emails designed to steal information increased by a whopping six thousand percent between December 2016 and February 2017 they can look like fake IRS emails or fake emails from tax softwares like TurboTax that report also reminds us that stolen personal information like w-2s and social security numbers can be bought pretty cheaply on the dark web fortunately there are precautions you can take some states have opted in apps that help prevent tax fraud if you're not in one of those states your best bet is to file as early as possible if you've already filed thieves can't file in your name a second time or otherwise overwrite what you've already sent in so while it's a little late to file early this tax season it's a good idea to keep in mind for next year for more information check out cnet.com I'm Ashley escape a vegan humans