Online Security Concerns Surge as Americans Prepare to E-File Their Taxes

More Americans considering filing their taxes online are concerned about online security, according to a new national poll commissioned by Taxsoftware.com.

Last year, according to the Internal Revenue Service, more than 112 million income tax returns—77 percent of all individual returns filed—were e-filed. “E-file is the norm,” the website encourages, calling it “the safest, fastest and easiest way to submit individual tax returns.”

But incidents such as last month’s “illegal and unauthorized access” to Zappos accounts can only underscore concerns about online security. Hackers gained access to names, email addresses, addresses, phone numbers, and partial credit card numbers. Twenty-four million customers of the online shoe retailer were affected.

According to the Taxsoftware.com survey, apprehension has surged this year over only security and privacy issues related to personal technology devises with which people would use to file their taxes:

∙54 percent have some level of concern about using their smartphones, an increase of 11 percentage points over last year

∙53 percent have some level of concern about using desktop computers, up from 49 percent in 2011

∙52 percent are wary about using their laptops, up from 44 percent the previous year.

∙41 percent expressed trepidation about using their personal digital assistants (up from 32 percent last year) and their iPads, up 10 percentage points from 2011.

Taking the long view, a Taxsoftware.com spokesperson noted that when this survey was first conducted in 1997, 83 percent of respondents had online security and privacy issues with filing their taxes online. “Whether this year’s spike in concerns is a blip or a trend only time will tell,” the spokesperson said in a statement.

The IRS website reassures people that “e-file has proven itself year in and year out as a safe and secure method of filing a tax return,” citing that software vendors and professional tax preparers use the latest encryption technology. One of the surest ways to minimize online security risks is to make sure your Internet connection is secure. It is not recommended, for example to submit taxes from a public location such as a library or at work, where data can be intercepted.