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MI Treasury Dept. urges cybersecurity and identity-theft awareness as tax season closes

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Cybercriminals try to create a sense of urgency to incite an immediate response from taxpayers

The Michigan Department of Treasury is urging state residents to be alert and aware of scammers.

In a news release, state officials say cybercriminals are constantly using new tricks and tactics online to obtain personal information so they can fraudulently file state income tax returns and claim refunds on behalf of unsuspecting taxpayers. Typically, cybercriminals try to create a sense of urgency to incite an immediate response from taxpayers. For example, a scammer may allude to taking criminal actions against you for failing to respond.

Deputy State Treasurer Kavita Kale, who oversees Treasury’s Revenue Services programs says, quote, "Always examine the calls, emails and texts you receive to ensure they're from a verified source.” End quote

The Department of Treasury advises Michigan residents to be cybersecurity aware and a couple tips include:

Only connecting to the internet over secure, password-protected networks and you should not click on links or pop-ups, open attachments or respond to emails from individuals you don't know.

Additional information about state individual income taxes can be found at Michigan.gov/IncomeTax.

Jennifer is an award winning broadcast news journalist with more than two decades of professional television news experience including the nation's fifth largest news market. She's worked as both news reporter and news anchor for television and radio in markets from Grand Rapids and Kalamazoo all the way to San Francisco, California.
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