When working with taxes, financial planning and retirement, you often have to provide sensitive information. You don’t want your social security number or finances released to the public, so it is important to take some precautions. While e-mail is a fast and easy way to send information, it’s not as secure as you may think.
Don’t send it if you aren’t sure.
When you send an e-mail, it usually creates a copy of the e-mail in your sent folder. That goes for your recipient’s inbox as well. You may be able to guarantee that your e-mail is secure, but you don’t know about the person on the other end.
Add security.
If you do send an e-mail, encrypt your data if you can. Adobe acrobat and other programs often have the option of setting a password on files, so people can only open the file if they know the password.
Double check the e-mail address.
Rather than guessing your password, it is much easier for a scammer to make a face e-mail address and trick you into giving your information to them. These face e-mail addresses can be extremely similar to the real address, only adding an extra letter or a space in the name.
From Clergy Financial Resources