The statutory mission of the Iowa Department of Revenue is to serve Iowans and support state government by collecting all taxes required by law, but no more.

This week's tip: It begins with common sense

You see some form of this headline on a daily basis. “Cyber criminals are out there – and they want your information.” Recently, hackers breached Equifax and exposed the personal information of 1.1 million Iowans. With more than 87% of Americans using the internet – and 8.4 billion people worldwide – criminals have figured out they don’t need to rob a bank. They can hack into computer systems, access personal information, and use it for their own gain – like filing a false tax return claim in your name.

The good news is there are simple steps you can take to protect yourself against the cyber bad guys. The sooner you take action, the less likely you are to be a victim of cyber theft. October is cyber security month and we will be sharing some cyber safety tips throughout the month on how to be safe online.

Today’s tip: protecting yourself (and your business clients) begins with common sense. Cyber attackers have learned the easiest way to get something is just ask for it – so if an email or phone call seems odd, suspicious, or too good to be true, it may be an attack.

For example, phishing emails are designed to fool you into opening an infected attachment or clicking on a malicious link. These emails can be very convincing, often appearing to come from a friend or business associate. Sometimes, cyber criminals even use details from your social media accounts to craft customized phishing attacks. If it looks suspicious, don’t open the attachment or click on the link – which could give criminals access to information on your computer.

Next week’s tip: Protecting your computer and mobile devices.