Press Release

client: Sharp Electronics

Tax Time Alert: Majority Of Americans Are Not Aware That Their Personal And Financial Information May Be At Risk Of Theft

Impending tax season will leave personal and business information vulnerable Social Security and Employer Identification Numbers at risk

MAHWAH, N.J., March 14, 2007 - More than half of all Americans will unknowingly put their private financial information at risk this tax season when they copy their tax returns, according to a new survey by Sharp Electronics Corporation.  The survey, conducted by Roper on behalf of Sharp in January 2007, measured the perceptions of 1,005 adults regarding the security of digitally processed information.

“Across the country during tax season, many consumers and business owners will photocopy highly confidential tax forms containing social security numbers, Employer Identification Numbers and other sensitive information in places outside the home, leaving them vulnerable to digital theft,” said Ed McLaughlin, president, Sharp Document Solutions Company of America.  “Sharp is dedicated to educating and encouraging consumers and businesses to protect themselves against potential data theft from a copier’s hard drive.  While consumers and businesses may be aware of the heightened dangers of information and identity theft, it is imperative that they take precautions to protect themselves against this risk.”

Unless a copier is equipped with the appropriate data security applications, images of the copied documents remain on the unit’s hard drive indefinitely.  With the tax season imminent, survey results showed that 53 percent of Americans believe that copying tax returns and other personal information on a digital copier is secure, and 54 percent believe printing these materials on a digital printer is secure. 

The survey also showed that 55 percent of Americans plan to make photocopies and/or print out copies of their tax returns and other important tax documents on digital devices this year, almost half of them outside of their homes - at offices, libraries and copy shops.  An additional 13 percent plan to have copies made by their tax preparer, revealing that a significant number of Americans are using copiers that are often unsecured. This practice puts personal financial information at risk of theft by anyone with access to the copier’s hard drive, or anyone with basic hacking abilities.

Additionally, the survey showed that when Americans are informed of the security risks of images stored on digital copiers, the vast majority are less likely to use an unsecured digital copier to copy personal financial information. 

Survey Results

  • 54 percent did not know that digital photocopiers store an image of what was copied on the copier’s hard drive
  • The majority of respondents perceived that digital copying and printing of documents is more secure than providing a credit card and other financial information to an online retailer
  • 55 percent plan to make photocopies and/or print out copies of their tax returns
  • 21 percent will make photocopies or print out copies and 13 percent will do both; another 13 percent will have copies made by their tax preparer
  • When informed of this security risk, 66 percent say they are less likely to use a digital copier to copy their personal financial information

Sharp’s Security Measures
Consumers and business alike can take steps to ensure their copied information is safe.  If consumers are making copies outside the home, it is important to ask if the public copier has data security installed.  The data security kit offered on Sharp copiers encrypts and then overwrites every document that passes through the copier or multifunctional peripheral (MFP) with a “digital shredder.” In many businesses, a security breach can also occur via network connections.  Sharp further secures the copier with a network interface card (NIC) that creates a virtual firewall, restricting unauthorized users from accessing the device’s internal data or launching denial of service attacks.

Sharp Document Solutions Company of America (SDSCA), a division of Sharp Electronics Corporation, markets the advanced, color and production MX Series and IMAGER(TM) multifunctional peripheral (MFP) systems that help companies manage workflow efficiently and increase productivity.  To keep documents safe from unauthorized users, Sharp leads the MFP industry in security by offering the most secure suite of MFP applications.*

For more information about the complete line of Sharp document solution products, contact Sharp Document Solutions Company of America, Sharp Plaza, Mahwah, N.J. 07430, or call 800-BE-SHARP.  For online product information, visit Sharp’s Web site at sharpusa.com or sharpusa.com/documents.

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Sharp Electronics Corporation is the Mahwah, N.J.-based marketing and sales subsidiary of Japan’s Sharp Corporation, a worldwide developer of the core technologies that are integral to shaping the next generation of home entertainment products, appliances, networked, multifunctional office solutions, solar energy and mobile communication and information tools.  Leading brands include AQUOS(R) Liquid Crystal Televisions, 1-Bit(TM) digital audio products, SharpVision(R) projection products, Carousel(R) microwaves, IMAGER(TM) digital multifunctional systems, and Notevision(R) multimedia projectors.  Sharp Electronics Corporation employs approximately 2,000 people throughout the U.S. supporting more than 50 product lines.

*In 2006 Sharp received the BERTL’s BEST “Most Secure MFP Range” award and its color MX Series was the first color product line to achieve BERTL Five Star - Exceptional status throughout the entire line.

The study was conducted by Roper Public Affairs, a division of GfK NOP, on behalf of Sharp Electronics Corporation.  Results are based on OmniTel(TM) telephone interviews conducted from January 26 - January 28, 2007 among a nationally representative sample of 1,005 US adults using a random digit dialing (RDD) probability sample of all telephone households in the continental United States.  The sample has been weighted by age, sex, education, race, and geographic region.  The margin of sampling error for the sample is +/- 3.1 percentage points.