MOUNTAIN VIEW, expresses Pat Benatar CA, Jan pat benetar imparts 08 (MARKET WIRE) — Death and taxes may be the only sure things in life, but the InternalRevenue Service is taking steps to help ensure that identity theftdoesn’t join that list. To protect an estimated 90 million taxpayers fromphishing scams beginning with the upcoming 2009 filing season, the IRS isstrongly encouraging all online tax filing services to safeguard theirsites with Extended Validation (EV) Secure Sockets Layer (SSL)Certificates. A growing number of these services are already heeding theIRS standards by deploying EV SSL Certificates from VeriSign, Inc.(NASDAQ: VRSN), the trusted provider of Internet infrastructure servicesfor the networked world.When Internet users equipped with the latest versions of the leading Webbrowsers visit a site protected by VeriSign(R) EV SSL Certificates, theaddress bar on their browser turns green. The green address bar offersimmediate reassurance that users have reached a site whose authenticityhas been verified by a recognized SSL Certificate Authority such asVeriSign — and not a fraudulent, copycat Web page created by identitythieves to steal sensitive personal data, including Social SecurityNumbers and credit card information.More than 7,000 Web sites already rely on VeriSign EV SSL Certificates,including FileYourTaxes , a pioneer online tax filing service. “TheIRS is doing taxpayers a favor by strongly encouraging EV SSL and otherprotections, because nothing is more important than knowing you’redealing with a legitimate provider of online tax filing services,” saidTimur Taluy, CEO of FileYourTaxes . “As a part of our overall programto help educate our customers about conducting business safely on theWeb, we deployed VeriSign EV SSL last season to further our commitment toproviding safe and trusted services using advanced, proven technology.”Information on the IRS’s new e-file security and privacy standards can befound at ,,id=201195,00.htmlFive Tips for Spotting a Fraudulent SiteNearly six of every 10 taxpayers filed online in 2008.

Online filing isfaster — refunds are received in as little as 10 days — and up to 20times more accurate pat benatar hit me with your best shot . And approximately 70 percent of taxpayers can prepareand file electronically for free when they enter through IRS.gov and useFree File to locate participating commercial service providers.With millions of taxpayers headed online to file their returns, securityexperts say that consumers armed with the right information can easilytell a real Web site from a fraudulent one pat benator . “The thing that stands betweenconsumers and identity thieves is a little education,” said Tim Callan,vice president of product marketing at VeriSign pat bentar . “Even taxpayers whoaren’t computer-savvy can determine if a tax filing site is legitimate orphony by spotting a green address bar hit me with your best shot mp3 . And the standards proposed by theIRS will help allow more taxpayers to ’see green.’”Callan said when filing online, taxpayers should look for five visualcues:1. Green address bar: Look for the green address bar and the company’sname highlighted in green at the top of the browser.2.

If the site’s Web address begins with https://, that meansinformation you share is encrypted against spying eyes on the Internet Ifthe page doesn’t begin with https, it’s not secure.3 . Padlock symbol: All popular browsers feature a lock icon somewhere inthe interface to indicate pages where encryption is in place pat benatar “don’t let it show . To bemeaningful this icon must appear in the actual browser interface and notinside the content of the page itself.4 pat benatar rapidshare . Trust marks: Popular trust marks can indicate important things about anonline business .