The subject line says \u201cGet Protected,\u201d and the email talks about new features from the Social Security Administration (SSA) that can help taxpayers monitor their credit reports, and know about unauthorized use of their Social Security number. It even cites the IRS and the official-sounding \u201cS.A.F.E Act 2015.\u201d It sounds real, but it\u2019s all made up according to Amy Herbert, Consumer Education Specialist with the Federal Trade Commission.<\/p>\n
Ms Herbert\u00a0says \u201cIt\u2019s a\u00a0phishing email<\/a>\u00a0to get you to click on a scammer\u2019s link. If you do, a scammer can install\u00a0malware<\/a>\u2014 like viruses and spyware \u2014 on your computer. Or, the link might send you to a spoof site \u2014 a lookalike website set up by a scammer to trick you into entering your personal information.<\/p>\n Not sure if an email is really from the government? Here are a couple of clues. Did the email end up in your junk folder? Email providers use filters to help catch phishing scams<\/a>\u00a0and prevent\u00a0spam<\/a>\u00a0from getting into your inbox. And when you hover your cursor over the link, is the web address really a trusted website? In this is a fake SSA email, when you hover over the URL you\u2019re invited to click on, you see the link goes to an unrelated \u201c.com\u201d \u2014 instead of the Social Security Administration\u2019s socialsecurity.gov<\/a>\u00a0or another \u201c.gov\u201d site.<\/p>\n If you get a questionable email, don\u2019t click on any links, or open any attachments. You may wish to report it to the FTC by forwarding the email to\u00a0spam@uce.gov<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 and to the real organization impersonated in the email. You also can report it to your email provider.\u201d<\/p>\n You should also consider black listing the sender to avoid receiving any additional emails from this unsavory source.\u00a0And, don\u2019t forget to delete the email ASAP.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re unsure about an email that looks like it\u2019s from the government, contact the agency directly. But find the contact info yourself.<\/p>\n If you want to discuss retirement planning or your business or personal tax planning<\/a> and tax preparation<\/a> concerns with an experienced tax professional, we invite you to call 610-594-2601<\/a> today to make an appointment at our Exton PA CPA office<\/a> to discuss your situation. You can also schedule a consultation at Click Here<\/a>.<\/p>\n The subject line says \u201cGet Protected,\u201d and the email talks about new features from the Social Security Administration (SSA) that can help taxpayers monitor their credit reports, and know about unauthorized use of their Social Security number. It even cites the IRS and the official-sounding \u201cS.A.F.E Act 2015.\u201d It sounds real, but it\u2019s all made […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-1929","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-irs-tax-planning-ideas-tips-news","7":"entry"},"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9W9tf-v7","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/keysolutions.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1929","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/keysolutions.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/keysolutions.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/keysolutions.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/keysolutions.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1929"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/keysolutions.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1929\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1932,"href":"https:\/\/keysolutions.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1929\/revisions\/1932"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/keysolutions.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1929"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/keysolutions.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1929"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/keysolutions.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1929"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Copyright \u00a9 2016 Keystone Financial Solutions, P.C. All rights reserved. BE SURE TO READ THE DISCLAIMER PAGE: Content in this blog is for educational purposes only and should not be considered as the rendering of tax, legal or investment advice. The publisher of this blog makes no representations as to the accuracy or completeness of any information herein, will not be liable for any errors or omissions, and shall not assume liability for any losses, injuries, or damages from the display or use of this information.<\/strong><\/h6>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"