Welcome to the inaugural post on
the Sarfino and Rhoades, LLP blog “Stop & Rewind”! The purpose of our blog is to provide you
with insights into various accounting and tax concepts to help enhance your
financial well-being. The staff at Sarfino
and Rhoades is committed to providing you with information on timely, relevant
topics that will pique your interest.
Please join us in our overview of online fraud below:
You receive an email from your
telephone company asking you to log into your account and update your credit
card information immediately, or risk your service being terminated. Of course, you want your bill to be paid on
time and your service to continue, so you do as the email asks and click the
link as it suggests. When you click the
link, however, you are redirected to a website that is impersonating your
telephone company’s actual website, and when you enter your credit card
information, it is stolen instantly.
This process, which is known as
“phishing”, is becoming increasingly more popular amongst online fraudsters,
and can easily victimize individuals who are not aware of what they should be
looking for in a suspicious email. Fraudulent parties often:
- Request sensitive personal information via email, whereas legitimate companies typically do not
- Instill a sense of urgency (“Act now, or your service will be discontinued!”)
- Promise discounts or offers that seem too good to be true
- Provide fake links that do not direct you to a legitimate website
Keep these fraud indicators in mind
as you conduct your business online in an effort to keep your personal
information safe!
Upcoming dates to know:
October 15th –
Extended due date for individual tax returns
November 11th –
Veteran’s Day
November 27th –
Thanksgiving Day
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| Amber |
