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Tax Filing Websites send your private financial data to FaceBook

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The Verge: Tax filing websites have been sending users’ financial information to Facebook

The Markup found services including TaxAct, TaxSlayer, and H&R Block sending sensitive data.

The data, sent through widely used code called the Meta Pixel, includes not only information like names and email addresses but often even more detailed information, including data on users’ income, filing status, refund amounts, and dependents’ college scholarship amounts.

This article was copublished with The Markup, a nonprofit newsroom that investigates how powerful institutions are using technology to change our society. Sign up for its newsletters here.

The information sent to Facebook can be used by the company to power its advertising algorithms and is gathered regardless of whether the person using the tax filing service has an account on Facebook or other platforms operated by its owner Meta.

Adult Life Training, Inc. is heavily invested in educating families in financial literacy. Exactly this sort of abuse is why we recommend that everyone (by default) disable javascript in their browser, and enable it individually for sites they know and trust which absolutely must have javascript to funtion at all. We know it is annoying and websites complain. Without javascript this exploit doesn’t work.

Information on The Meta (FaceBook) Pixel is here and on using the Advanced Matching features that these companies are using to send very private financial data to FaceBook is here. This is not an accident: these data cannot be collected unless it is specifically programmed to be collected.

Across these “Free File” vendors, FaceBook collects everything needed to falsify tax returns, or get names of child dependents to aide in targeting children by knowing their name, and their families’ address, phone numbers, demographics, filing status (married, single parent, etc), Gross and Adjusted Gross incomes and the amount of their tax refund. Knowing someone is a 12 year old daughter of a single mother with a $2,000 refund at a specific home address and phone number might be very handy to the wrong person.

It is important that every taxpayer in America know how the Federal Law has been ignored and their private financial information has been provided to FaceBook, and plan for safer ways to comply with government dictates that we file personal income taxes every year.

Harvard’s Matlock said The Markup’s findings showed the almost inevitable consequences of relying on for-profit companies to handle a government requirement. It’s a process that provides users little choice but to hand over their data to Facebook if they want to comply with the law, she said.

Read The Verge article or The Markup article.

How to Empower Your Family and Community with Financial Freedom – For Free

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The need is great. According to the US Census 270,402 people live in Fort Wayne. Far too many people are homeless, invisible, children under 10 hiding their school books in alleys. The need is great.

And the global economy is faltering, leaving many across the globe concerned about their finances.

Whether you have led a Financial Peace University class before, or you’re brand new to Ramsey Solutions, you can start an important change for the people in your community, and through freedom from serving money (debt) empower your neighbors to help with greater tasks.

You have a unique opportunity to change lives in an area that’s causing your community a lot of stress — money. And the cost of the program is already paid in full by a generous grant from 3Rivers Credit Union Foundation. You don’t get charged anything if you are working with Adult Life Training, Inc. Free is a good price to permanently strengthen your community.

Our next Zoom FPU class starts Monday January 9, 2023 at 7:00pm EDT and our next in-person class starts Thursday January 12, 2023 at 7:00pm in the Community Room in the ALC campus at 3301 E Coliseum Blvd, Fort Wayne, IN 46805. You can also go through the training at your own pace and start today.

Ramsey+ walks with people throughout their entire financial journey, not only through the nine weeks of FPU classes. Ramsey+ still includes FPU, but the team over at Ramsey Solutions is constantly adding more resources to help people continue to win with money. They’ve rolled all of their content, tools and resources into one all-access membership that helps people lead a life of financial peace.

With additional courses like Jump Start, Smart Money Smart Kids, Legacy Journey and Budgeting That Actually Works, people in every walk of life now have access to financial education customized for exactly where they are on their money journey. Using the EveryDollar app, people can create budgeting habits that help them take control of their money every month. And with the new BabySteps app, they can track their progress and see how quickly they can reach their goals.

Watch this video to learn about the Ramsey+ account.

Watch this video to learn how to activate your Ramsey+ account.

For details see our page at : https://alt-fw.org/outreach/.FPU QR Code

After you’ve created an account, save this link to use when you want to log in to your account: https://www.ramseyplus.com. Next choose one of our classes – either on the Ramsey page after you are registered as part of our site license, or from the list below.

You’ll hear us talk about Ramsey+ regularly. Stay tuned to hear about upcoming FPU classes and other learning opportunities on our web page at https://alt-fw.org/outreach/.

Feel free to reach out to me at jdnash@alt-fw.org if you have any questions.

November FPU Stats

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In just 6 weeks

from Lesson #2 to Lesson #8 for the Five Families in our Thursday evening FPU class:

Non-mortgage debt decreased 0.5% (with Gazelle Intensity)

Savings increased 3%

5% of Credits Cards were ended (with extreme prejudice)FPU QR Code

And the really big one, 60% were able to significantly increase their giving!

WOW! Good job! I am so proud of you guys!

Friends, neighbors!

Anyone in the Fort Wayne Community (well, actually the world) can learn how to have the same results. This worked for my family and it will work for yours! See our information page for the needed links and directions.

  Your free membership to FPU includes your member workbook and a free year of Financial Peace Membership, with online tools created to support your journey, underwritten by a generous grant from the 3Rivers Credit Union Foundation.  3Rivers is here for you: here for good! And by a grant from Fort Wayne Door, Inc. Fort Wayne Door is your complete garage door services center. And by grants from American Programmers Independent, LLC. When you want something done, call API.