Tech Savvy Ideas for Grads, AND Dads!

/in /by

It’s that time again! Whether you are in the market for a great and fun gift for a graduation or for Father’s Day, read on…

If your graduate is finishing high school or departing their college campus with a degree in hand, they deserve a little something for their hard work.  Below are a number of options for the tech-savvy grad.  Whether you are giving a gift to spruce up an apartment, dorm, or even help them master a new job, get in to shape, go on an adventure or just have fun, here are some ideas to help you give the perfect gift.

Is Dad tech savvy?  You may even find the perfect gift for him, too!

The 1MORE Triple Driver small, sleek headphones. Unlike most portable models, they deliver excellent sound, with an earplug-like design that limits extraneous noise. The 1MORE Triple Driver also comes with nine pairs of earpieces to help the user find just the right fit.

Edifier R2000DB.  These elegantly-designed Bluetooth speakers deliver very good sound quality and ease of use, masterfully converting any late-night gathering into an unforgettable party. They’re a good choice for the more critical listener in need of a wireless speaker for music and other audio content. This one ships as a pair, so your grad and her hipster friends can hear their favorite songs in stereo.

Nikon Coolpix S9900.  This camera packs a 30x zoom into a relatively thin body. It also has a swiveling liquid crystal display, great for composing selfies and other hard-to-reach shots. It even has a good image stabilizer.

Sony FDR-X1000V. This dependable action cam is one of the best, and it’s a bit pricey, but very lightweight, easy to use, and shoots a 4K resolution video.  It also has new-and-improved image stabilization, designed to counteract low-amplitude vibration, which Sony claims is a common problem when you shoot video from a drone. So, if your certain someone decides to capture an aerial view of himself, shaking with fear while zip-lining, it won’t be a problem – the footage itself won’t be jittery.

Apple Watch Series 3 38mm Smartwatch.  An Apple Watch not only shows that the student is tech savvy (which is great for today’s start-up culture), but it also keeps them organized. The Apple Watch Series 3 is the latest version in Apple’s watch collection and it boasts some amazing features. It’s faster than previous generations — by about 70% — which means that apps launch quickly and the…MORE graphics are smoother. Students can use apps like the heart rate monitor and custom high-intensity interval training to stay healthy or conduct business by tracking meetings, sending emails and managing budgets.

Mosiso Laptop Shoulder Bag.  It fits a 15-inch laptop and features spill-resistant gray denim that fits in with both casual and business looks. The inside has foam padding and a fluffy fabric lining to protect the computer from bumps and scratches. And there are side pockets to store a phone, notebook, and power adapter.

Display2Go Digital Photo Frame.  The electronic signage black wood frame has a built-in speaker that allows users to play audio while cycling through a photo slideshow. The frame also has the ability to play video files.  The digital photo frame also includes a white mat, tabletop or wall mount, and has 2GB of internal memory, allowing users to store files directly on the frame.

Logitech X300 Mobile Wireless Stereo Speaker.  The speaker comes in copper, black, blue, pink and silver, and features a built-in rechargeable battery that powers five hours of continuous music. In addition to stereo sound, this speaker is wireless, and has a built-in microphone to double as a mobile speaker for phone calls.

Skylock.  Perhaps your grad loves cycling. This is a smart bike lock with a built-in solar panel that recharges its battery. Skylock uses 256-bit eliptic-curve cryptography to keep bikes safe, and a touch interface to unlock. With a steel housing, Skylock is extremely durable and tough to break.

Happy shopping!

Facebook. To Share, or Not To Share.

/in /by

Last month Facebook appeared in the news for weeks.  Due to a firm by the name of Cambridge Analytica which collected data from 50+ million Facebook users, it is believed that the company supposedly used this information to influence voter behavior during the US presidential election and UK’s Brexit campaign.

We all know that Facebook is a very popular platform for developing brand awareness, not to mention the millions of families who post photos and all sorts of information to be shared online.  Have you wondered if your data is still safe after the recent data breach scandal?

Let’s rewind back to 2014.  A Facebook personality quiz app which was called “This is Your Digital Life” was developed by a data scientist.  Tens of thousands of Facebook users signed up and released information about themselves in exchange for humorous results.  In 2015, this was removed from the Facebook platform.  The app collected not just the data of the people who took the quiz, but also — “thanks to Facebook’s loose restrictions — data from their friends, too, including details that they hadn’t intended to share publicly.” 1

What the quiz takers didn’t know was the firm that the data scientist worked for had stuck a deal with Cambridge Analytica to share the information that was gathered, including the mined data about the users’ friends.

The information collected was based on:

  • Activities on Facebook, and the information that was disclosed to Facebook
  • Facebook connections, networks, messages, photos and other content that other users sent
  • Payments handled by Facebook
  • Your location
  • Devices that were used for Facebook access
  • Apps and websites which use Facebook services
  • Data from other platforms that are also owned by Facebook, including Instagram and WhatsApp
  • Advertisers and other third-party partners.

What happened next was Cambridge Analytica analyzed the data and created psychological profiles to invent better political drives to influence how people would vote.  There is still a debate about how effective the plan was, but, there’s no doubt that thousands and thousands of users were manipulated in to signing away data without knowing it.

Here is what you can do to keep information safe from data-harvesting apps and programs.

  • Audit Your Facebook Apps. If you used Facebook to sign in to a third-party website, game or app, those services may continue to access your personal data.  “On Facebook, go to the settings page and click on the Apps tab to see which apps are connected to your account. From there, you can take a closer look at the permissions you granted to each app to see what information you are sharing. Remove any apps that you find suspicious or no longer use. (Facebook has also made some changes to prevent the gathering of detailed information of friends of users.)” 2

“On the App Settings page there is another setting called Apps Others Use. This is where you choose which details are shared about you when your friends use apps. Make sure to uncheck all the boxes if you don’t want any of your information, like your birthday or hometown, accessed by your friends’ apps.” 3

  • If you are concerned about what details apps can see about you and your Facebook friends, now is a good time to check your privacy settings and minimize the information you share publicly. For example, you can make sure that only your friends can see your Facebook posts, or that only you can see your friends list. 4

 

Read privacy policies. When you sign up for a new app or web tool, the company typically asks you to agree to its terms of service.  Be sure to carefully read the terms and the privacy policy.  If you see language that you do not understand, or, which suggests your data could be shared in a way that makes you uncomfortable, don’t use the program.

 

References:

Android Security

/in /by

In the past several months, Android security issues have become part of techie news.  Hackers are developing a record number of cyberattacks that could compromise your mobile operating system and they’re having more success than ever before. There are some things you can do to tighten up your Android security, and most of the features you need are already built in.

If you lose your Android phone, anyone who picks it up could see what’s inside.  Perhaps it’s a harmless passerby, or worse, a hacker.  Fortunately, Android has a “Find my device” feature that allows you to track, lock, and wipe data from your lost or stolen device. Unless you’ve accidentally disabled ‘Find my device’, it should be running on your Android by default.  To use it in the event that you’ve misplaced your Android device, make sure it’s registered. Go to where you will be prompted to log into your Google account. From there, you can locate your phone and, if you think it has fallen into the wrong hands, wipe it remotely.

One feature that’s often overlooked, but which you should pay close attention to, is the app permission settings located in the App & Notifications menu. In this window, you’ll be able to see which apps have permission to access different phone functions.  Pay close attention to apps that have access to your microphone, camera, and biometric sensors, as these can be used to monitor your daily activities and private information.  And given the recent Facebook privacy fiasco, it’s a good idea to closely watch what permissions your social media apps have.

With “Safe Browsing” mode, Google Chrome users are given warnings before they enter a suspicious site. There are robust threat monitoring features that scan ahead to prevent you from falling for online scams, and much like “Find my device” this feature is enabled by default — just make sure you’ve updated your Android and Chrome to the most recent versions.

In the “Security” menu of your device, there are various settings for managing your lock screen. App notifications, for instance, still make their way onto your lock screen, which means people can still see important messages, even if your phone is locked. To fix this, you can simply limit how much is shown on your lock screen.  Another important setting is Smart Lock, a feature that allows you to automatically lock a device based on its location. For example, if you’re carrying your phone, it can let you automatically keep your phone unlocked; but as soon as it leaves your hand, it locks itself immediately.

Last but not least, you must enable multi-factor authentication.  Aside from accessing your device and apps with just a passcode, multi-factor authentication forces users to provide another set of identification like an SMS code, fingerprint, or facial recognition scan.  Although this adds another step to your sign-in process, it does make it much more difficult for anyone to hijack your accounts. This feature can be found in the “Sign-in & security” options of your system’s settings.  Once you’ve enabled these settings, you’re well on your way to keeping the wide variety of cyberattacks at bay.

*Published with permission from TechAdvisory.org.

Chrome, Edge and Firefox. Supporting Biometrics.

/in /by

Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, and Mozilla Firefox will soon support web-based biometric authentication which should give users more protection against phishing and may reduce the need for passwords.

These internet browsers are expected to allow users to sign into online profiles through facial recognition, fingerprint scanners and voice authentication. Online biometric authentication through these browsers requires no additional software.

Chrome OS, Windows, and MacOS, Linux, and Android are all adding features to help users safely log in using biometric identification via USB, Bluetooth, and NFC devices connected to smartphones and tablets. By having this convenience, users can verify their accounts on the go.

Passwords are notoriously bad at protecting users’ accounts and the information they store. Facial scans, fingerprints and voice recognition would make it much more difficult for hackers to commit identity theft. That means you’re also less likely to be duped by an email from a hacker pretending to be your boss asking for the company credit card.

Biometric verification will also lessen the need for logging in your information when shopping online, streaming video, using cloud applications, and other internet-based transactions. Windows 10 has already adopted features that offer limited account management with fingerprints and facial scans. But none of the big-name technology vendors have offered solutions to achieve this on mobile devices as of yet.

Browser-based biometrics could revolutionize and streamline the steps of verifying an online account. It promises to add more security and ease in logging in and transacting on the internet.

*Reprinted with permission; TechNet/Digital Trends   — https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/

Think Before You Click – Are Short Links Safe?

/in , /by and

Short links, or links that have been condensed so they require fewer characters, have been around for a while. For those not already familiar with them, they take a link such as this https://www.bryley.com/2018/04/05/4-options-for-discarding-old-hardware-bryley-tips/, and turn it into this http://ow.ly/SEga50h2XWW.  Typically you see them on social media platforms such as Twitter, where you have a fairly limited number of characters at your disposal, but they can be used pretty much anywhere.

While short links can certainly save space, they also present one very serious issue.  You can’t see where they are going to take you.  If you use our example above, simply by looking at the original link, which displays the full URL it is pointing to, you can determine that you are going to end up at Bryley.com.  Furthermore, you can see it will take you to a page discussing how to dispose of old hardware.

On the other hand, the short link shown above points to the same page, but it would be impossible to know that just by looking at it.  It doesn’t even given an indication of what site you are going to end up on if you click on it, never mind what page.

This poses a security risk.  If you see a short link that has been posted by someone you trust and you already have a sense of where it is going to take you then it is probably safe to click on it.  But what if you can’t verify the source a link came from, or where it is going to take you?  In that case, you should verify the destination of the link before you click on it.

Fortunately, there are several services online which will tell you exactly where a short link is going to take you if you click on it.  For instance, the website CheckShortURL.com will check any short link you happen to stumble upon.  All you have to do is copy and paste the short link into their utility (see image below).

After you click “expand” you will be presented with a page that looks like this:

 

Not only does this indicate where the short link is going to take you, but it lists several services which will check to see if any malicious content has been found at that location.

By taking this extra step, you are being proactive!  Avoiding a cybersecurity breach such as a ransomware attack will save you a lot of headaches, time and money.

Learn on how Managed IT Services can help your business.
Discover the best IT Company suited for your business.

Gavin and Cathy Livingstone, owners of Bryley Systems Inc., Participate in the 2018 Clinton Middle School Science Fair

/in /by

Gavin and Cathy Livingstone, owners of Bryley Systems Inc., Participate in the 2018 Clinton Middle School Science Fair

On April 13th, Bryley Systems was honored to be part of the third annual Clinton Middle School Science Fair.  As members of the Science Fair Committee, Cathy and Gavin Livingstone assisted in the planning and implementation of the event.  Mr. Livingstone presented the school with a monetary donation while Carol Misulis and Ms. Livingstone were part of the judging team.

Last November, Bryley Systems, a growing Managed IT / Managed Cloud business, relocated to 200 Union Street in historic downtown Clinton seeking a larger facility and a central location. The Livingstone’s have experience with judging science fairs, and were pleased to share their expertise and become involved in their new community.

Winners of the 2018 Science Fair, Samantha Forde and Madison McDonald.  Their winning display and science topic was  “What is the PH of your Favorite Drink?”

 

The fair featured a wonderful art display.  Cathy Livingstone and Carol Misulis, both art enthusiasts, enjoyed every moment!

Cathy Livingstone (left) and Dr. Alicia Casey, MD (right).  Dr. Casey is a pediatric pulmonologist in Boston, Massachusetts and is affiliated with Boston Children’s Hospital.  Dr. Casey grew up in Clinton, MA.

Bryley Systems Wins Channel Partners 360⁰ Award for 2nd Consecutive Year

/in , , , /by

LAS VEGAS – April 18, 2018 – Channel Partners, a resource for indirect sales channels offering IT and telecom systems and services, is pleased to announce that Bryley Systems Inc. has been selected as a winner of the 2018 Channel Partners 360⁰ Business Value Awards.

Michelle Denio, Technical Support Supervisor at Bryley Systems, accepting the Channel Partners 360 Award in Las Vegas

Michelle Denio, Service Manager at Bryley Systems, accepting the Channel Partners 360 Award in Las Vegas

Twenty-five winners were honored during an awards reception on April 18th at the Spring 2018 Channel Partners Conference & Expo in Las Vegas.  Michelle Denio, Service Manager at Bryley Systems, accepted the award.

“Our 2018 Channel Partners 360° Business Value Awards winners illustrate the rapid emergence of the full-stack digital services provider,” said Lorna Garey, editor in chief of Channel Partners and Channel Futures. “Our editors were impressed by the range of services delivered, from desktops as a service to security to SD-WAN to an all-in automation strategy and more. We also saw the blurring of the lines between different types of channel entities become really apparent — for the first time, several winners were also named as providers. Seems the message ‘develop your own IP’ has resonated.”

Channel Partners 360° Business Value Awards winners are selected by a panel of editors based on real-world case studies that illustrate how the partner is using the convergence of IT and telecom services to create business value for its customers.

“It is a great honor to have won this award for two consecutive years in a row,” said Gavin Livingstone, President of Bryley Systems. “We are a growing Managed IT / Cloud / Security services provider and we take great pride from the recognition of our peers.”

About Bryley Systems

Bryley Systems Inc. – a Top 501 Managed IT Services Provider worldwide for five consecutive years – proactively manages, optimizes, and secures the IT infrastructure of organizations in manufacturing, business services, passenger transit, and local government. From cloud-based to on-premise solutions, they approach each client’s needs individually, with flexible service options and custom-fit agreements.  Since 1987, Bryley Systems has been providing Dependable IT at a Predictable Cost™ to clients throughout the continental United States.

About Channel Partners

For more than two decades, Channel Partners has been the leader in providing news and analysis to indirect sales channels serving the business technology industry. It is the unrivaled resource for resellers, aggregators, agents, brokers, VARs, systems integrators, interconnects and dealers that provide network-based communications and computing services, associated CPE and applications as well as managed and professional services. Channel Partners is the official media of the Channel Partners Conference & Expo and Cloud Partners.

The Value of a Business Continuity Plan

/in /by

Depending on the region your organization is located in, disasters can take the form of hurricanes, floods, tornadoes, earthquakes, fires, power outages or severe snow storms.

“Roughly 40 to 60 percent of small organizations never reopen their doors following a disaster.  But you can.”   —   fema.gov

Imagine hard drives crashing, threats faced from computer viruses, malware, and hackers – yes, there is enough to be concerned about to require professional business continuity planning.

Organizations depend heavily on computerized information systems that run the day-to-day operations.  While this reduces the need for paper storage which can easily be lost or damaged, there can be serious consequences if the computerized information system is disrupted even for an hour.  Anything that could disrupt your organization can cause lost productivity, financial loss, or even take a company to its knees.

A properly planned business continuity plan ensures that an organization knows in advance what steps will be taken if a catastrophic situation occurs.  Resuming to normal operations as quickly as possible allows you to continue to ensure profit – even during a major disruption:

  • Have the ability to respond to an unplanned interruption
  • Implement a technology and communications recovery plan
  • Successfully restore an organization’s critical operational functions

Your organization should always be prepared to have employees be able to communicate among themselves and with your customers.  Operations should be remain resilient with very little downtime.

Too often organizations assume the likelihood of a disaster to be low, so they do not plan for it, resulting in a huge loss of revenue.

A good rule of thumb is that while disasters statistically happen to less than 1% of all organizations in any given year, events that lead to the need for business continuity happen to almost every business every year.

Here are a few examples.  Has this happened to your organization in the past year?

  • A file became corrupted and had to be recovered
  • Communications to the Internet were lost for more than a few minutes
  • Computer hardware failed
  • A licensing fee was not paid on a timely basis, whether this was for a web site, email, or a software product used on a daily basis, leading to the short-term loss of this key item until the licensing fee was paid.
  • There was a theft, loss or breakage of some piece of critical equipment

If one or more of these scenarios occurred, how did you continue to operate?  Did employees have to scramble to figure something out?  It’s much easier and more efficient to be proactive and have a well thought out plan in place.

Don’t let a disaster determine the success of your company.  Business continuity planning is easily one of the most important measures your business should take in order to prevent unnecessary downtime, data and profit loss. In the modern world you never know when, where, how, or in what form a disaster can strike.

When it comes to a preventative, and also predictive approach to IT, Bryley Systems is here to help.

Learn on how Managed IT Services can help your business.
Discover the best IT Company suited for your business.

Bryley Systems Continues to Hire for Growth

/in /by

We are pleased to welcome Anthony Fierimonte on board as our new Business Development Associate. His primary role is to build sales by contacting and building relationships with new and existing clients. He will partner with marketing, sales and team leaders to create and implement business strategies to increase brand awareness and sales.

Mr. Fierimonte will be working directly under Roy Pacitto, Vice President of Business Development who has been with the company for over 20 years. “What excited me most about Tony is two-fold; his desire for a successful career in business development, and his past prospecting experience” said Mr. Pacitto. “He also has a friendly, outgoing personality that is well suited for starting and building relationships. I’m very pleased to have him on our team!”

Mr. Fierimonte is a 2015 graduate of Assumption College and was previously employed as a regional account executive. “What attracted me to Bryley was the opportunity to work for a reputable and growing organization” stated Anthony, “and to expand my expertise among seasoned professionals.”

During Anthony’s time at Assumption College he received the Freshman Athlete of the Year (2011), the Andrew Laska Male Athlete of the Year (2014), and the Steve “Merc” Morris Award for the “premier male senior student-athlete”. His passions are fitness, reading and meditation. “We have a diverse group of employees at Bryley” said Mr. Pacitto, “and Anthony will complement our growing team”.

Phishing Scams During Tax Season – Protect Your Personal Information

/in , , /by

Phishing schemes, especially during tax season, have become very widespread.  A little extra caution can go a long way to avoid the threat of refund fraud or identity theft.

The Definition of Phishing. It is the attempt to obtain sensitive information such as usernames, passwords, and credit card details (and, indirectly, money), often for malicious reasons, by disguising as a trustworthy entity in an electronic communication.

Phishing scams are easy to accomplish and can be done from home. A typical phishing email during tax season will bear similar (or sometimes identical) IRS letterhead or logos and will instruct you to follow a link that will lead you to, you guessed it, a site that requests your personal information. Some individuals are too quick to trust a logo or letterhead and forget to check the validity of an email/site before divulging their personal information.

In recent years, thousands of people have lost millions of dollars and their personal information to tax scams and fake IRS communication. Scammers use the regular mail, telephone, fax or email to set up their victims.

Knowledge is Power! Remember that the IRS doesn’t initiate contact with taxpayers by email, text messages or social media channels to request personal or financial information. In addition, the IRS does not threaten taxpayers with lawsuits, imprisonment or other enforcement action. Recognizing these telltale signs of a phishing or tax scam could save you from becoming a victim.

Last-Minute Email Scams. The IRS, state tax agencies and the tax industry urges taxpayers to be on guard against suspicious activity, especially email scams requesting last-minute deposit changes for refunds or account updates.

Learn to recognize phishing emails, calls or texts that pose as banks, credit card companies, tax software providers or even the IRS. They generally urge you to give up sensitive data such as passwords, Social Security numbers and bank or credit card accounts. Never provide your private information!  If you receive suspicious emails forward them to phishing@irs.gov. Never open an attachment or link from an unknown or suspicious source!

IRS-Impersonation Telephone Scams. “An aggressive and sophisticated phone scam targeting taxpayers has been making the rounds throughout the country. Callers claim to be employees of the IRS, using fake names and bogus IRS identification badge numbers. They may know a lot about their targets, and they usually alter the caller ID to make it look like the IRS is calling.

Victims are told they owe money to the IRS and it must be paid promptly through a pre-loaded debit card or wire transfer. Victims may be threatened with arrest, deportation or suspension of a business or driver’s license. In many cases, the caller becomes hostile and insulting. Or, victims may be told they have a refund due to try to trick them into sharing private information. If the phone isn’t answered, the scammers often leave an “urgent” callback request.”1

The IRS will never:

  • Call to demand immediate payment using a specific payment method such as a prepaid debit card, gift card or wire transfer. Generally, the IRS will first mail you a bill if you owe any taxes.
  • Threaten to immediately bring in local police or other law-enforcement groups to have you arrested for not paying.
  • Demand that you pay taxes without giving you the opportunity to question or appeal the amount they say you owe.
  • Ask for credit or debit card numbers over the phone.
  • Remember: Scammers Change Tactics — Aggressive and threatening phone calls by criminals impersonating IRS agents remain a major threat to taxpayers, but variations of the IRS impersonation scam continue year-round and they tend to peak when scammers find prime opportunities to strike.

Surge in Email, Phishing and Malware Schemes. “When identity theft takes place over the web (email), it is called phishing. The IRS saw an approximate 400 percent surge in phishing and malware incidents in the 2016 tax season. The IRS has issued several alerts about the fraudulent use of the IRS name or logo by scammers trying to gain access to consumers’ financial information to steal their identity and assets.

Scam emails are designed to trick taxpayers into thinking these are official communications from the IRS or others in the tax industry, including tax software companies. These phishing schemes may seek information related to refunds, filing status, confirming personal information, ordering transcripts and verifying PIN information.

Variations of these scams can be seen via text messages. The IRS is aware of email phishing scams that include links to bogus web sites intended to mirror the official IRS web site. These emails contain the direction “you are to update your IRS e-file immediately.” The emails mention USA.gov and IRSgov (without a dot between “IRS” and “gov”), though not IRS.gov (with a dot). These emails are not from the IRS. The sites may ask for information used to file false tax returns or they may carry malware, which can infect computers and allow criminals to access your files or track your keystrokes to gain information.”

Unsolicited email claiming to be from the IRS, or from a related component such as EFTPS, should be reported to the IRS at phishing@irs.gov.

Tax Refund Scam Artists Posing as Taxpayer Advocacy Panel. “Some taxpayers may receive emails that appear to be from the Taxpayer Advocacy Panel (TAP) about a tax refund. These emails are a phishing scam, where unsolicited emails try to trick victims into providing personal and financial information. Do not respond or click any link. If you receive this scam, please forward it to phishing@irs.gov and note that it seems to be a scam email phishing for your information.

 TAP is a volunteer board that advises the IRS on systemic issues affecting taxpayers. It never requests, and does not have access to, any taxpayer’s personal and financial information.

How to Report Tax-Related Schemes, Scams, Identity Theft and Fraud. To report tax-related illegal activities, you should report instances of IRS-related phishing attempts and fraud to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration at 800-366-4484.”3

Additional Scam-Related Information:

Security Summit – Learn more about how the IRS, representatives of the software industry, tax preparation firms, payroll and tax financial product processors and state tax administrators are working together to combat identity theft and refund fraud.

IRS Security Awareness Tax Tips

Tax Scams — How to Report Them

State ID Theft Resources – State information on what to do if you or your employees are victims of identity theft.

IRS Dirty Dozen – The annually compiled list enumerates a variety of common scams that taxpayers may encounter

 If you suspect you are a victim, contact the IRS Identity Theft Protection Specialized Unit at 800-908-4490. When reporting to the IRS, you will need to:

  • Send a copy of an IRS ID Theft Affidavit Form 14039 – download the form here: irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f14039.pdf.
  • Send a proof of your identity, such as a copy of your Social Security card, driver’s license or passport.

After doing that, make sure to:

  • Update your files with records of any calls you made or letters you sent to the IRS
  • Put a fraud alert on your credit reports and order copies of your credit reports to review any other possible damage
  • Create an Identity Theft Report by filing an identity theft complaint with the FTC and a police report

 

Sources and References:

1 http://www.vanderbloemengroup.com/articles/irs-impersonation-telephone-scam

2 http://www.irs.gov

3 http://www.irs.gov

http://usa.gov/business-taxes

http://www.aarp.org

https://www.taxadmin.org/

https://treasury.gov/tigta/