Dear Client,
We take security seriously at our firm and are delighted to inform you we have recently passed all necessary security reviews and implemented all security policies required under IRS Publication 4557 – Safeguarding TaxPayer Data.
We are confident our firm is adhering to the recommended security standards and we are proud of our track record in keeping client data safe.
One of the requirements is to train staff never to accept, or send, personally-identifiable information (PII)* and/or sensitive customer information** via unencrypted email or other insecure methods. The list of what constitutes PII and “sensitive” information is very long (see below) – because of that we really just need to ensure we safeguard ALL your information.
This is where we need YOUR help!
- By using a secure method to send your information to the firm you can help us to significantly reduce the risk of having your information fall into the hands of bad actors.
Therefore, and effective immediately, our staff will no longer accept or send documents and sensitive personal or company information via unencrypted methods.
Here are the Secure Methods we have for you to use:
- Verifyle Client Portal for Messages, Documents, and Electronic Signatures. (encrypted automatically)
- Link Client Portal for Documents (encrypted automatically)
- Encrypted Email (use a separate encryption service)
- Encrypted Fax
- Hand delivery by appointment only
- USPS/FedEx/UPS. Please email me so that I know your mail is arriving and I will confirm when it’s received.
- Phone call (for sensitive information like passwords or SSNs etc)
Please let us know if you need assistance with any of the above secure methods, and THANK YOU for helping us keep your valuable information OUT of the hands of cyber criminals and scammers.
Best regards.
Diana Patterson, EA, NTPI Fellow
Patterson Business Solutions, LLC.
Patterson Business Solutions take security seriously. We do not open attachments sent via email, and we do not send sensitive customer information or personally-identifiable information via email. Instead of insecure emails or texts, please use Verifyle or Link to securely exchange documents and information or just give me a call – together we can keep cyber criminals OUT of our businesses!
* Personally-Identifiable Information (PII) includes:
- Social Security Number
- Date of Birth
- Employment Data
- Driver’s License Number (or State ID Number)
- Income Data
- Tax Filing Data
- Retirement Data
- Asset Ownership Data
- Investment Data
- Financial Account Numbers (Bank Acct #s etc),
- C/C Numbers (with or without Security Codes)
- Access Codes / Personal ID Numbers / Usernames, Passwords & PINS that allow access to a client’s financial accounts or records
- E-mail Addresses
- Non-Listed Phone Numbers
- Residential Phone Numbers
- Mobile contact information
** Sensitive Customer Information includes:
- Company accounts and financial state reports
- Profit/loss information
- Debts and Assets information
- Employee lists
- Customer lists
- Vendor lists
- Investor information