Many University of Nebraska employees are beginning to file their income taxes and using convenient electronic delivery of their W2 statements. The Information Technology Services security team has a few tips to keep your information and identity secure when filing.
W2 statements contain sensitive data and should be protected against theft. Whether your downloading the W2 statement to a USB device or computer hard drive, it should be encrypted while stored.
Information is also vulnerable when it is in transit. Ensure that encryption is enabled when using email, so your information won’t be sent “in the clear”, allowing cyber criminals to steal your information over the internet. If the data is not encrypted, it can be monitored, modified, and captured. A common type of online encryption is HTTPS. This means all traffic between your browser and a website (like an email website) is encrypted. Look for https:// in the URL, a lock icon on your browser, or your URL bar turning green. Most email clients (such as UNL’s email systems) provide encrypted capabilities, but for third party email providers, you may have to enable encryption.
In recent years, some tax payers have been victims of fraudulent tax returns being filed. The IRS has taken steps to implement new security safeguards to help fight fraudulent filings. For more information, check out the news on the IRS website – https://www.irs.gov/individuals/new-security-safeguards.