In spite of numerous warning signals and consumer alerts, criminals still manage to take advantage of any occasion to steal identities and money, as well as sensitive tax and financial data that can be used to file fraudulent tax returns.

Just a few weeks ago, the IRS and the Security Summit partners opened the National Tax Security Awareness Week for the third year in a row. The IRS, state tax agencies, the private sector tax industry, including tax professionals, work in partnership as the Security Summit to help protect taxpayers from identity theft and refund fraud. The bottom line is that everyone should take a few basic steps to help protect their identities, their financial accounts, their computers and mobile phones.

One of the first topics addressed was online shopping. The holiday online shopping season was, as always, a prime time for cybercriminals and identity thieves to trick shoppers into giving up financial, identity or password information. As sales events take place all year long, take just a little time to pay attention to and observe a few valuable tips to make your online shopping safer:

Thieves have become more adept at compromising mobile phones. Phone users also are more prone to open a scam email from their phone than from their computer. You can check out the security recommendations for your specific mobile phone by reviewing the Federal Communications Commission's Smartphone Security Checker. Since phones are used for shopping and even for doing taxes, remember to make sure phones and tablets are just as secure as computers.

Phishing scams remain a year-round threat to everyone. Here's what you need to know to protect yourself from phishing scams:

Remember, letters for taxes due always request payment be made to the "United States Treasury." If unsure, you can register at the official IRS.gov website and view your account information.

The IRS does not make threatening phone calls, nor does the IRS request payment via gift cards or debit cards like iTunes.

A new avenue is social media. Increasingly, thieves are embedding their links or malware in social media commentaries, tweets or posts. Do not open links from social media unless you are certain of the source.

Strong passwords protect online accounts and digital devices from data theft. But there have been some important changes many people can overlook.

In recent years, cybersecurity experts' recommendations on what constitutes a strong password has changed. They now suggest that people use word phrases that are easy to remember rather than random letters, characters and numbers that cannot be easily recalled.

For example, experts previously suggested something like "PXro#)30," but now suggest a longer phrase like "SomethingYouCanRemember@30." By using a phrase, users don't have to write down their password and expose it to additional risk. Also, people may be more willing to use strong, longer passwords if it's a phrase rather than random characters that are harder to remember.

Protecting access to digital devices is so critical that some now feature fingerprint or facial recognition technology, but passwords remain common for many people.

Given the sensitivity of many of these online accounts, people should consider these passwords tips to protect devices or online accounts:

Whenever it is an option for a password-protected account, users should opt for a multi-factor authentication process. Many email providers, financial institutions and social media sites now offer customers two-factor authentication protections.

Two-factor authentication helps by adding an extra layer of protection. Often two- factor authentication means the returning user must enter their credentials (username and password) plus another step, such as entering a security code sent via text to a mobile phone. Another example is confirming "yes" to a text to the phone that users are accessing the account on.

The idea behind multi-factor authentication is that a thief may be able to steal usernames and passwords, but it's highly unlikely they also would have access to the mobile phone to receive a security code or confirmation to actually complete the log- in process.

Remember, the IRS will never ask for passwords, so watch out for phishing emails posing as trusted companies seeking passwords.

People who receive an IRS-imposter email scam should send it to phishing@irs.gov. To report fraudulent letters and telephone calls, contact the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration at TIGTA.gov.

The best defense for you as taxpayers is to remain alert, follow the measures of precaution mentioned above, and contact a tax professional whenever you are in doubt or suspect fraudulent conduct. Of course, your favorite option is to keep up with our newsletters!