filing taxes online?

Am I the only person who feels like submitting all your personal tax and income information online is asking for a swift case of identity theft? It just seems like a little too much information to be left floating around in cyberspace, what with all of the Russian hackers out there.

I've had my credit card number stolen twice now, both thanks to online businesses with less-than-perfect security strategies. Although both cases were covered by the credit card company without any financial loss to me, they did involve several days of talking on the phone and filling out fraud reports. And to me, time is money. One guy at the credit card company told me that online credit card fraud is no different than having some brick-and-mortar store clerk writing down your card number. But I'm not really convinced. So there are certain things that I still shy away from doing online.

Filing my taxes are top of the list. Mortgage applications and online auto insurance are next in line, although it really depends on how much info they request. Some only require you to submit less sensitive information as a preliminary application, and then allow you to follow up via snail mail or telephone. The phone and utility companies are pushing online payment processing really hard these days. Most offer incentives, and a few even require it. But what if you don't have email or an internet connection (or don't want it)?

Everyone assumes that the only people that are left without an internet connection are the nearly-departed generations of yesteryear. But there are still certain businesses that lend themselves to a more face-to-face business model and no amount of money saved is gong to change our desire for personal interaction - regardless of our age. Of course, with the "virtualizing" of nearly every aspect of our lives, it is only a matter of time before people forget how to interact in person. I hope that we have some sort of real life unwired renaissance prior to that.