Science & Technology
Science and Technology
Science and Technology
Thu, January 8, 2009
VeriSign, Inc.: VeriSign Helps Educate Taxpayers About EV SSL in Light of IRS's New Security and Privacy Standards
MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA--(Marketwire - January 8, 2009) - Death and taxes may be the only sure things in life, but the Internal Revenue Service is taking steps to help ensure that identity theft doesn't join that list. To protect an estimated 90 million taxpayers from phishing scams beginning with the upcoming 2009 filing season, the IRS is strongly encouraging all online tax filing services to safeguard their sites with Extended Validation (EV) Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) Certificates. A growing number of these services are already heeding the IRS standards by deploying EV SSL Certificates from VeriSign, Inc. (
When Internet users equipped with the latest versions of the leading Web browsers visit a site protected by VeriSign® EV SSL Certificates, the address bar on their browser turns green. The green address bar offers immediate reassurance that users have reached a site whose authenticity has been verified by a recognized SSL Certificate Authority such as VeriSign -- and not a fraudulent, copycat Web page created by identity thieves to steal sensitive personal data, including Social Security Numbers and credit card information.
More than 7,000 Web sites already rely on VeriSign EV SSL Certificates, including [ FileYourTaxes.com ], a pioneer online tax filing service. "The IRS is doing taxpayers a favor by strongly encouraging EV SSL and other protections, because nothing is more important than knowing you're dealing with a legitimate provider of online tax filing services," said Timur Taluy, CEO of FileYourTaxes.com. "As a part of our overall program to help educate our customers about conducting business safely on the Web, we deployed VeriSign EV SSL last season to further our commitment to providing safe and trusted services using advanced, proven technology."
Information on the IRS's new e-file security and privacy standards can be found at [ http://www.irs.gov/efile/article/0,,id=201195,00.html ]
Five Tips for Spotting a Fraudulent Site
Nearly six of every 10 taxpayers filed online in 2008. Online filing is faster -- refunds are received in as little as 10 days -- and up to 20 times more accurate. And approximately 70 percent of taxpayers can prepare and file electronically for free when they enter through IRS.gov and use Free File to locate participating commercial service providers.
With millions of taxpayers headed online to file their returns, security experts say that consumers armed with the right information can easily tell a real Web site from a fraudulent one. "The thing that stands between consumers and identity thieves is a little education," said Tim Callan, vice president of product marketing at VeriSign. "Even taxpayers who aren't computer-savvy can determine if a tax filing site is legitimate or phony by spotting a green address bar. And the standards proposed by the IRS will help allow more taxpayers to 'see green.'"
Callan said when filing online, taxpayers should look for five visual cues:
1. Green address bar: Look for the green address bar and the company's name highlighted in green at the top of the browser.
2. https://: If the site's Web address begins with https://, that means information you share is encrypted against spying eyes on the Internet. If the page doesn't begin with https, it's not secure.
3. Padlock symbol: All popular browsers feature a lock icon somewhere in the interface to indicate pages where encryption is in place. To be meaningful this icon must appear in the actual browser interface and not inside the content of the page itself.
4. Trust marks: Popular trust marks can indicate important things about an online business. Look for such marks as the VeriSign Secured Seal (online security and verified site identity), TRUSTe (customer data privacy), and the Better Business Bureau (business practices).
5. Web address: Fake sites often employ Web addresses that appear as if they may be legitimate. Be suspicious of any site whose Web address contains the name of a well-known site in the latter part of the Web address. For example, if your favorite bank is located at www.myfavoritebank.com, be wary of a site such as www.otherdomain.com/myfavoritebank.
As the most respected and trusted SSL authority on the Web, VeriSign is the EV SSL Certificate provider of choice for more than 7,000 Internet domains, representing greater than 75 percent of the entire EV SSL Certificate market worldwide. More than 95 percent of the Fortune 500 -- and the world's 40 largest SSL-using banks -- rely on SSL Certificates sold by VeriSign (including VeriSign's subsidiaries, affiliates and resellers) to meet their security needs. For more information on VeriSign SSL protection, visit: [ http://www.verisign.com/ssl/index.html ]
About VeriSign
VeriSign, Inc. (
*Internal Revenue Service[ http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=201142,00.html ]
Statements in this announcement other than historical data and information constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. These statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause VeriSign's actual results to differ materially from those stated or implied by such forward-looking statements. The potential risks and uncertainties include, among others, the uncertainty of future revenue and profitability and potential fluctuations in quarterly operating results due to such factors as the inability of VeriSign to successfully develop and market new products and services and customer acceptance of any new products or services, including VeriSign EV SSL solutions; the possibility that VeriSign's announced new services may not result in additional customers, profits or revenues; and increased competition and pricing pressures. More information about potential factors that could affect the company's business and financial results is included in VeriSign's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including in the company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2007 and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. VeriSign undertakes no obligation to update any of the forward-looking statements after the date of this press release.
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