Do you ever worry about who has access to your information?  I know that this is something that is always of concern to me.

Do you ever go in to a doctor’s office, only to be given a list of forms asking you to fill out with every intimate detail of your personal information including your name, address, Social Security Number, date of birth, etc.?

I always wonder about who will have access to that information and use it for an unintended purpose.  Perhaps some clerk in the office who may sell it to someone for a little extra pocket change.  Do you ever think about that as well?  I never enter my Social Security Number, as I do not want it to get into the wrong hands.  Do you withhold that information, too?  There is so much identity theft today, that it is hard to know who to trust.

And what about your tax information?  This has all the information discussed above plus information about all your financial accounts, charities you support and other very personal information as well.  Do you ever think about who has access to all that precious data?  Or that perhaps you get what you pay for?

We just spoke about Turbo Tax in a recent tax tip.  Did you know that Turbo Tax halted filing of all its state income tax returns last week amid reports from 19 states that their software was the source of criminal attempts to obtain refunds though its system?  Was the proper security in place in their system?  An investigation is still under way.

So, how much is it worth to you to keep your data protected?  Have you asked your tax preparer what they have done to protect your data?

It is precisely for these reasons that Catherine M. Censullo, CPA works so hard to keep your data safe.  Everyone who works in our office, both full-time and temporary staff are fingerprinted and required to pass a criminal and financial background check before they can work in our office.  Does your preparer do this detailed a review as well? 

In addition, we use a secured network for all data storage and data transmission.  We have advanced monitoring of our systems that is updated daily to screen out viruses, would-be hackers, and other potential threats to your data. 

If hackers can break into the Pentagon, then nothing is 100% safe.  But, the more safeguards you have in place, the better off you are to prevent unwanted intrusion of your data.