RALEIGH—As the holiday season and tax season approach, so do identity theft and scamming. The 4^th annual National Tax Security Awareness Week has been declared by the N.C. Department of Revenue, the Internal Revenue Service, other state tax agencies, and the nation’s tax industry to help holiday shoppers and taxpayers protect their data.

Throughout this week, state officials are encouraging taxpayers and businesses to up their online security, and as part of the efforts, IRS and Summit partners have created YouTube videos for taxpayers to learn about cybersecurity.

IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig says in a press release that “while people are shopping online, identity thieves are trying to shoplift their sensitive information.” He says “everyone should remember to take basic steps to protect themselves” from identity theft and he adds that “the Security Summit has made progress in fighting back against tax-related theft, but we need people to watch out for common scams that can put their financial and tax data at risk.”

The National Tax Security Awareness Week includes five days of security guidance for individual taxpayers, business taxpayers, and tax professionals. The NCDOR, IRS, and Security Summit are reminding people to protect personal and financial information online, learn to recognize phishing emails and phone scams, create strong passwords to protect online accounts, recognize clues of identity theft, and reviewing safeguards.

For more information, and links to the YouTube series, visit https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/national-tax-security-awareness-week-2019 .