Tax Filing Websites Have Been Sending Users’ Financial Information to Facebook. Be Careful Who You Trust with Your Personal Information!

The Verge and The Markup have conducted a shocking investigation into how carelessly several major tax preparation websites have treated their customers’ information.

From the article:

“Major tax filing services such as H&R Block, TaxAct, and TaxSlayer have been quietly transmitting sensitive financial information to Facebook when Americans file their taxes online, The Markup has learned.”

“The data, sent through widely used code called the Meta Pixel, includes not only information like names and email addresses but often even more detailed information, including data on users’ income, filing status, refund amounts, and dependents’ college scholarship amounts.”

“The information sent to Facebook can be used by the company to power its advertising algorithms and is gathered regardless of whether the person using the tax filing service has an account on Facebook or other platforms operated by its owner, Meta.”

Click here to read the complete story from The Markup. When you choose a tax preparer, it is always best to choose a trusted, locally-owned and operated member of your community who prepares your return on-site rather than sending your information all over the globe, legally or otherwise. Tortolano & Company has been a trusted partner for individual filers and businesses alike since 2009. Your information never leaves our office until it is securely transmitted to the IRS with best-in-class security. We NEVER share your information with third parties and treat everyone the way we’d like to be treated. Want to have your taxes prepared quickly and accurately by a real human being who doesn’t read off a script? Give us a call today!