Security Questions to Ask Before Choosing an E-file Provider

What You Need to Know About E-filing Security

Due to the increasing threat of data breaches and identity theft in today’s digitally focused world, you may question the security of e-filing. A bit of caution is warranted – especially when many e-file providers are nothing more than mom-and-pop businesses storing sensitive form data, such as Social Security numbers and tax IDs, in homegrown databases. Even more alarming, they may print and mail forms out of their garages!

Data security is a primary concern with reputable e-file providers like efile4Biz. As an industry leader and pioneer in online 1099, W-2 and ACA form processing, we employ the latest, most sophisticated security measures.

Never cut corners with data security and fraud prevention. Before you work with a particular e-file provider, ask these two critical questions:

1) How do you store data?

We use strong encryption, as recommended by the federal government, to block the interception or interruption of information by a third party. Data is encrypted throughout the entire print, mail and e-file process.

2) Where do you print forms?

A reputable e-file provider will use a secure print-and-mail facility. For any forms that need to be mailed with efile4Biz, encrypted form data is automatically transmitted directly to our state-of-the-art print-and-mail facility – one of only a few facilities authorized by the IRS to print tax forms.

We comply with the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA’s) Service Organization Control (SOC) standards, which involves expert, third-party evaluations of all security programs to ensure best practices in data encryption and protection of sensitive information. We also perform annual third-party penetration tests, annual and quarterly Payment Card Industry (PCI) audits and weekly vulnerability scans to proactively detect and mitigate any new threats/vulnerabilities that may be discovered. Your credit card information is safe, thanks to these security controls and audit measures.

As an added security measure, our print-and-mail facility complies with the latest HIPAA security requirements regarding protected health information (PHI) with the ACA healthcare forms.

Updated: 09/09/2024