"With holiday shopping starting and the 2023 tax season quickly approaching, many people will be using laptops and personal devices to share sensitive financial information," acting IRS  Commissioner Doug O'Donnell said in a prepared statement.

The sponsors urged extra care for those shopping online or viewing emails and texts, especially during the holiday season when criminals are very active. The Security Summit noted shoppers should keep the following in mind .                                                                                       *Shop at sites where the web address begins with "https".                                                                                                                                 *Avoid use of unsecured public Wi-Fi in places like a mall.                                                                                                                                 *Update security software for computers, tablets and mobile phones .                                                                                                           *Protect the devices od young children, older adults and less technologically savvy users.                                                                              *Ensure anti-virus software has a feature to stop malware and enable firewalls to prevent intrusions.                                                            *Employ strong and unique passwords for online accounts.                                                                                                                                  *Use multi-factor authentication to deter hacking.