<p>I am an international student from India and applied to US colleges this Fall. All my applied colleges are among the top 15 of the world.
I submitted my CSS profile on 20th Feb but still haven't received my IDOC pin. When will I receive it?
I have to send my tax documents to some colleges via fax/email. Through email there are security issues and the fax takes alot of time to connect and send. Is it safe to send the tax documents through email?
Please respond fast!!</p>
<p>I have emailed mine without issue… one thing I did is redact (mark out) bank account information; I was using direct deposit for my refund, so my bank account information was on it. So any copy I have emailed, faxed, or sent via IDOC has the information blacked out with a Sharpie before sending. </p>
<p>Did you get your emailed receipt after submitting the Profile that says which colleges use IDOC? If you have colleges that aren’t using IDOC, you can start doing whatever is required by them while waiting for your IDOC email. The IDOC colleges do strongly prefer you use that process. I think there is a process where your colleges have to upload your info so IDOC can pick it up, then you get your email. The email should go to you and your eventually your parents if you put separate email addresses on your Profile. If I were you I would probably contact College Board if you are still worried. Your colleges also probably have their due dates on their websites, so contact any where the deadline is close and let them know that you don’t have the IDOC login email yet.</p>
<p>Just to be clear, you can fax or email your documents directly to a college, if they agree, but anything sent to IDOC must go by postal mail - there is no email or fax option. So, if you can’t afford to send that postal mail packet, contact your colleges about emailing the documents directly to their financial aid offices. They might allow that.</p>
<p>And, no, I wouldn’t have any concerns about emailing tax documents. It seems to me that it would be safer than using postal mail.</p>
<p>As long as your computer is secure, with a security software active it should be safe. Plus after you email it you might want to print a copy of the email (for proof) and then delete the email copy on your computer. That way if you ever do get hacked it is no longer visible. Good luck. </p>
<p>^^ unless your email is backed up by whatever email service you are using. You have no control whether it is deleted or not on the server, even you have deleted it from your own folder/account.</p>
<p>So which email service do you recommend? I have accounts on gmail, yahoo, hotmail.
And what possible harm is in someone getting access to my tax forms through hacking or any other means?
Momom77</p>
<p>For security, never ever send tax documents without security through public email service. If you email is intercepted by anyone, you basically lost all those information. That is why most colleges do not recommend sending tax documents by email.</p>
<p>Assuming you redact bank account information before scanning to send it, then identify theft is the obvious potential issue. Your name, SSN, address, and dependent information (including their SSNs) is on a US tax return (not sure what information may be on your home country’s form). I wouldn’t worry too much about email security, honestly…</p>
<p>What do you mean by ‘tax documents without security’? How can I make it secure?</p>
<p>And for the record…I have emailed CollegeBoard twice regarding my IDOC pin but they still havent responded to it. I sent the last email to them on 21st Feb and the previous one before than that. intparent</p>