#Middlebury #Seniors
A recent newspaper story told of two senior women who were coaxed into an experiment, e-filing their taxes on their cellphone and tablet. E-filing apparently is becoming more and more popular, as 126 million people e-filed for the past tax year, and 85 million of those received faster direct deposit refunds because of it.
Would I do this, e-file on a handheld electronic device? No, I would not.
In all honesty, I did e-file once years ago, sending my information directly to the Internal Revenue Service with the push of a computer keyboard button. It was the only time in all these years that something went wrong, and the IRS didn’t receive all the numbers.
Some months later I received mail from them saying I owed additional taxes. Once I ran the numbers again and called them on the phone, it was clear that one entry never made it across the wires. After I sent the paper version of the tax return, all was well, but it caused grief and took time to sort out. Now I only send paper versions done on a computer where I’m more certain of the security software, hardwired to the wall.
The specific reasons I won’t use a handheld electronic device to file my taxes are these: 1) Handheld devices usually don’t have adequate security software installed on them, and if installed, it’s not familiar to the user. 2) If the device is hooked up via a home WiFi, the router connection might not be encrypted. If you don’t know the difference between WEP and WPA/WPA2, ask someone for help with your router to make sure you’re not on WEP, which can be cracked by someone walking by outside.
We seniors are targets in so many instances already. Beware giving identity thieves another way to access your personal information.
© 2019 King Features Synd. Inc.
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