Think before you click

moneycoach — Thu, 07 Apr 2011 15:04:00 GMT

You have an extra three days to file your taxes this year, but the April 18 deadline is still fast approaching. Tax season can be stressful, depending on whether you have to pay or will get a refund. Either way, the anxiety helps crooks catch people off-guard with income tax-related scams.

Here are some tips to help you avoid tax season malware and phishing attacks.

1. The IRS will not e-mail you. For most tax season threats, this is the No. 1 red flag. If you understand this, you can ignore 99 percent of the tax scams out there.

2. The IRS will not ask for your bank or credit card information. Even if you owe money, the IRS will never ask you to hand over your bank account PIN or credit card number.

3. Don't click links or open attachments in unsolicited e-mails. This is always a good idea, but it is especially important now. Most e-mail-borne malware and phishing attacks can be avoided if you just remember to not click on any link or open any file attachment in an unsolicited e-mail.

4. Don't conduct sensitive transactions over public networks. It's convenient to jump online in a library or use free public Wi-Fi, but don't do business on those networks.

5. Always log out of sites. Clicking on the "X" to end a Web session is not enough. The session will remain alive for a period of time before it times out. Someone could hijack your session and steal your information.

6. Don't share your computer with your kids. Kids don't always understand that they shouldn't click on any link they see, and if they do, they could expose your computer to increased risk.

7. Conduct secure transactions. When you log into your bank or some other sensitive site, you should see "https" in the URL, or a little padlock to indicate that your session is secure.

8. Use strong passwords. Don't make it easy for a crook to figure this out.

9. Use spyware, anti-spam and other software to detect and filter out threats.

10. Remember that if it's too good to be true, it probably is. What are the odds that the IRS has reviewed your return and determined that you're owed more money?

Be cautious and think before you click.

Expecting a tax refund? Here's how you should spend it

moneycoach — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 15:25:00 GMT

It's tax season, and as we all file our taxes and eagerly await our returns, the ideas of how to spend it are floating in our heads like the fabled sugar plums that dance there on Christmas Eve.

While just blowing it is certainly an option, there are some much smarter uses of your tax refund. Here are a few suggestions:

• Pay off your high-interest credit card debt.

• Rebuild your emergency fund. It makes sense to allocate some or all of your tax return towards covering future emergencies.

• Create a car insurance savings account. Consider raising your deductible on your insurance policy and saving on your policy payments. If you have the money to cover the deductible tucked away, you'll enjoy the savings on your premiums.

• Add it to your retirement fund. If you don't want toward retirement, drop it in savings and increase the amount deducted from your paycheck toward your 401(k) plan.

• Purchase a gym membership. If you pay for a year up front, most gyms offer a discount.

• Build your kids' college fund.

• Help your kids save for their future. You can open a Roth IRA with your child, and invest your tax return – up to the amount your child earned last year.

• Start a car replacement fund.

• Give it to a charity.

• Pay extra on your mortgage balance.

• Get your will done.

• Take a vacation.

• Create a checking account buffer by depositing your refund in your checking account, but don't add it into the balance in your check book.

Money Coach : income tax

Think before you click

Expecting a tax refund? Here's how you should spend it