A Defensive Computing Checklist    by Michael Horowitz
NOTE: I gave a presentation on Defensive Computing at the HOPE conference in July 2022
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TAX FILING IN THE US

IDENTITY THEFT TAX SCAMS

A common scam has bad guys filing "your" taxes before you do and claiming a refund. To prevent this, the IRS offers an Identity Protection PIN. In the early years, the IRS would provide a PIN only to someone who had already suffered an identity theft. Now (June 2023), anyone can proactively request one. Once you are grooved into this IRS system, the IRS will mail you a PIN (postal mail, hard copy) each January. You then include it with your tax return. More here: Get An Identity Protection PIN

SCAMS REGARDING FILING FOR FREE

Many developed countries allow most citizens to file their taxes for free. In the US, this was the stated intent, but the scheme was corrupted. According to Pro Publica, TurboTax tricked customers into paying for tax preparation they could have gotten for free. TurboTax even has a service with the word "free" in it - that is/was not free. US taxpayers owe a debt to Pro Publica for their reporting on this.

May 4, 2023: States Prepare to Send Checks to Consumers Tricked Into Paying for TurboTax by Paul Kiel of Pro Publica. Quoting: "A year after a $141 million settlement with Intuit, the maker of TurboTax ... 4.4 million customers will receive compensation ... TurboTax for years lured consumers with the promise of 'free' tax filing and then deployed a range of tricks and traps to steer them to paying products."

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