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Showing posts from February, 2022

*ACTION REQUIRED* Free Credit Monitoring from Equifax Data Breach Settlement

  In September 2017, Equifax announced a data breach that exposed the personal information of 147 million people.   A settlement has now been reached and finalized, which will include up to $425 million to help affected individuals to receive free credit monitoring services, help recovering from identity theft that may have occurred, and even cash reimbursements for certain situations.   If you were affected by the breach, you are eligible for at least 4 years of FREE credit monitoring  from all three credit bureaus – Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion – and up to 6 more years from Equifax, for a total of 10 years.   The settlement administrator recently began sending emails and letters to people who filed a valid claim requesting these monitoring services.   *ACTION IS REQUIRED!*   Eligible claimants will get free membership in Experian IdentityWorks℠ for four years. This service is free for you. You do not need to provide any payment information to enroll, an

VITA - Free Tax Preparation Services in Niagara County

CCCS Buffalo has officially launched our 8th year of providing free tax preparation services in Niagara County through the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program. If your 2021 income was $57,000 or less, you can have your  federal and state taxes e-filed for FREE! Due to COVID-19 safety precautions, the service this year will function similar to last year's, in a drop-off/virtual manner, to minimize exposure by limiting face-to-face interactions.  Masks are required. Individuals will visit one of our two sites to speak with a trained VITA tax volunteer for a short time, drop off their documents, and provide identification and completed intake/consent forms.  Volunteers will conduct the intake process by scanning and uploading documents to secure tax software, then prepare the tax returns offsite/remotely.  Taxpayers will then come back to the physical site 1-2 weeks after their initial appointment to finalize their return, sign off on the e-filing, and obtain a paper copy