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Dear Fellow Floridians:
In today’s world, digital scams are common, and they tend to increase during tax season. There are a lot of resources out there helping to identify tax scams; the IRS released this list a few weeks ago that I found very helpful. Be wary if an email or website asks for personal information, and remember that the IRS never contacts taxpayers by email for personal information. You can also avoid being a victim of identity theft by using computer software that has antivirus and firewall protections.
Floridians work hard to provide for their families, and it is sad to see the lengths that some people will go to cheat and steal from these hardworking families. However, you can protect yourself from fraud and tax scams by taking a few simple steps.
Even though tax day is around the corner, I urge everyone to be aware of potential tax scams now and all year.
Sincerely,
Jimmy Patronis
Chief Financial Officer
State of Florida
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Stay Connected
 
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News of Interest
WFTV 9 Orlando: CFO Patronis’ Disaster Strike Team Arrests Insurance Agent Following Fraud
Sun-Sentinel: Citizens’ board approves coverage caps for customers who use outside contractors
Insurance Journal: Florida Gov Signs Bill Giving Workers’ Comp Benefits to First Responders
Sun-Sentinel: Florida adds 17,500 private-sector jobs in March, 13 percent over a year ago
Orlando Sentinel: Florida’s Hurricane Irma insurance losses tallied at $7 billion-plus
Gulf Breeze News: Here are 7 tips for financial safety |
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CFO Jimmy Patronis Releases Top 7 Tips to Boost Financial Education during Financial Literacy Month
Data breaches at major companies like Equifax, Target, Uber, and most recently Saks Fifth Avenue, Lord &Taylor and Under Armour’s MyFitnessPal app will continue to happen and Florida’s Chief Financial Officer (CFO) wants to ensure Floridians take steps to protect themselves from fraud and safeguard their finances. One of the top ways to protect yourself from fraud is to freeze your credit, and CFO Patronis successfully eliminated the fee imposed to do so during the 2018 Legislative Session. Knowing how to protect your finances is equally as important as knowing how to manage your finances and with Financial Literacy Month recognized in April, CFO Patronis released his top 7 easy tips to strengthen and protect your financial future.
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Operation S.A.F.E., Be Scam Smart Workshops
 Florida Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis invites you to participate in Operation S.A.F.E., Be Scam Smart, a free workshop for seniors, their families, and caregivers.
The Florida Department of Financial Services launched Operation S.A.F.E. (Stop Adult Financial Exploitation) as part of CFO Patronis’ On Guard for Seniors initiative. Be Scam Smart workshops help inform, empower, and protect Florida’s seniors from financial scams and fraud. If you want to make sure your savings are protected, register for this workshop and get a better understanding of how scam artists and scams work.
Tuesday, April 24 – Land O’Lakes – 10:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
Register | Directions | Flyer
Wednesday, April 25 – Brooksville – 10:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
Register | Directions | Flyer
Thursday, April 26 – Crystal River – 10:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
Register | Directions | Flyer
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Florida Economic Briefs
U.S. Employment Continues to Grow
Human Resources and payroll firm ADP reported an U.S. employment increase of 241,000 jobs in March 2018 compared to 122,000 jobs in March 2017. Medium-sized businesses contributed nearly 53 percent of March’s job growth, which is the strongest growth for medium-sized companies since the fall of 2014.
Source: ADP
U.S. Small Business Optimism Cools Slightly
The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis reported real gross domestic product (GDP) increased in the fourth quarter at an annual rate of 2.9 percent compared to the third quarter rate of 3.2 percent. The slowdown in real GDP growth was due to a reduction in private inventory investment, which was partly offset by higher personal consumption expenditures, exports, state and local government spending, nonresidential fixed investment, and federal government spending, and an upturn in residential fixed investment.
Source: The National Federation of Independent Business
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