These are some of the top tax-season risk behaviors according to CyberScout:

Taxpayers should be more worried than they are. The majority of Americans (58%) are not worried about becoming victims of identity theft during this tax season, a 5% drop from the number of those not worried in 2015 (63%).
Only 35% of taxpayers demand their tax preparer use two-factor authentication to protect personal tax information. The majority (56.5%) did not know if their preparer followed, offered or required this best practice. Two-factor authentication is much more secure than a single password and tax preparers should take this security approach.
Most consumers (80%) have protected their home Wi-Fi networks with a password, but they are relying on it too heavily and need to use more secure storage methods. Only 18% utilize an encrypted USB drive, a secure way to save important documents like tax worksheets, W-2, 1099 or 1040 forms. Another 38% either store tax documents on their computer's hard drive or in the cloud, approaches that are susceptible to a variety of hacks. Nearly a third report not being sure where they save their tax data or documents and another 14% don't save their tax documents at all.
One of the safest ways for consumers to file their 2016 tax return is to file online directly with the IRS. Unfortunately, only 48% rely on and trust online tax services. Nearly a quarter of respondents do not trust online tax services because they think they are unsafe, a misperception that sometimes leads to exposure.
A majority of taxpayers have not gotten the message to file early. Nearly half (43%) file by February, but another 57% either planned to file later or didn't know when they would file. Delaying filing gives tax scammers an opportunity to file ahead of the real taxpayer and scoop up their refund.
Tax return checks headed to home mailboxes are at risk. According to the IRS, more than 70 million taxpayers receive refunds. Of those who expect refunds in the mail, only 29% have a locked mailbox. And while another 20 % planned to be home, 51% risk exposure from unlocked mailboxes and lack of other precautions.
Tax preparation services continue to be a potential avenue for serious harm. Most people (62%) use a tax preparer. Of that group, 50% choose their tax preparer based on reputation or rely on an IRS declared preparer, while the rest were not sure how to judge their credibility, planned to choose someone online, or didn't vet them at all. This is an area where consumers need to research carefully since pop-up storefronts offering tax preparation services are a common way to scam consumers.

Instant Insights /

Taxpayers Need an ID Theft Wake-Up Call

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