Posts Tagged: ‘income tax identity theft’

Scam of the day – April 19, 2013 – Some help with income tax identity theft

April 19, 2013 Posted by Steven Weisman, Esq.

The deadline for the filing of your 2012 federal income tax return is only four days past, but the deadline for income tax identity theft never comes.  Identity theft, by which identity thieves use your Social Security number and name to file a phony income tax return in your name along with a forged 1099 or W-2 that provides them with a huge refund is a major problem costing the federal government billions of dollars and tying up the legitimate refunds for the victims of income tax identity theft for as long as a year.  A  key part of protecting yourself from income tax identity theft is protecting the privacy of your Social Security number which is the key to many forms of identity theft.

TIPS

However, there is another thing you can do that can offer you some measure of protection from income tax identity theft.  File an IRS Form 8821 with the IRS.  This form is like a power of attorney in that it authorizes the IRS to send to a third party, such as your accountant or lawyer, any information regarding your income tax return.  Traditionally, this form has been used when someone is being audited or is having health issues such that an accountant or lawyer is acting on behalf of the taxpayer with the IRS.  However, you can use this form to help combat identity theft.  Name yourself as the third party to receive information about your income tax return so that if there are any issues with the phony income tax return filed by the identity thief, you will be contacted.  This can help serve as an early alert system if an identity thief has filed an income tax return on your behalf and the tax return has any issues that arouses IRS interest.

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Scam of the day – April 9, 2013 – Hospital identity theft

April 8, 2013 Posted by Steven Weisman, Esq.

A few days ago officials at a Jacksonville, Florida hospital, the Shands Brentwood Primary Care Center warned more than a thousand patients that they are in danger of identity theft due to the stealing of their personal information by an employee at the hospital.  An investigation discovered that health records including the names, addresses, Social security numbers, dates of birth service locations and medical record numbers of 1,025 patients had been stolen by a former employee.  This information puts these patients in serious danger of identity theft and, in some cases, may already have been used to file false income tax returns.  In addition, the victims are also in danger of the serious risks that come with medical identity theft where someone’s medical insurance information is used to provide medical services to someone else.   This can result in a contaminating of the medical records of the identity theft victim, such that false medical information about the patient may appear on his or her records with the risk of receiving improper care, such as a blood transfusion of the wrong blood type.

TIPS

This case once again highlights that no matter how well you protect your personal information, your security is only as strong as the security in the weakest place that holds your information.  Whenever you provide personal information to anyone, company or agency you should inquire as to what security precautions they take to preserve the privacy and security of your information.  It also illustrates the importance of being proactive in preventing harm from identity theft by taking actions such as having a credit freeze on your credit report.  Information about credit freezes, income tax identity theft and medical identity theft can be found elsewhere in this blog and also in more detail in my book “50 Ways to Protect Your Identity in a Digital Age” which can be purchased from Amazon by merely clicking on the link on this blog.

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Scam of the day – February 24, 2013 – More income tax identity theft scams

February 23, 2013 Posted by Steven Weisman, Esq.

Every season is scam season and income tax season is a huge time for income tax identity thefts by which identity thieves access your name and Social Security number and the file a phony income tax return in your name and claim a phony income tax refund based on false information they include in the return.  The Treasury Department Inspector General issued a report last summer that predicted the IRS will lose as much as 21 billion dollars to income tax identity theft over the next five years.  However, it is not just the IRS that loses, but it is also the person whose name and Social Security number has been stolen who is harmed.  If you file your legitimate return after the identity thief has filed a return using your name and Social Security number, it can take up to a year for you to get your legitimately owed refund from the IRS.

TIPS

The key to protecting yourself from this kind of identity theft is to protect your Social Security number as much as possible.  Don’t carry your Social Security card with you.  Shred any documents that may contain personal information, such as your Social Security number so dumpster diving identity thieves cannot go through your trash and turn it into their gold.  Limit the places that have your Social Security number.  Don’t give it to companies that ask for it to use it as an identifier of you unless they legally need it, such as when you apply for a loan from a bank.  My eye doctor wanted my Social Security number and I refused to give it.  Remember, the security of your personal information is only as secure as the security of the weakest place that holds your information.  Keep your computer and other electronic devices protected with the latest security software to prevent hacking into your devices and stealing your information.  Finally, file your income tax return as early as possible to prevent an identity thief from filing before you do.

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Scam of the day – January 21, 2013 – Income tax scam season has begun

January 21, 2013 Posted by Steven Weisman, Esq.

The good news according to the IRS is that their crack teams of forensic accountants prevented the payments of 1.5 billion dollars in fraudulent tax refund checks last year.  The bad news, however is that a report done for the Treasury Department predicts that the IRS will pay more than 21 billion dollars in fraudulent tax refund checks over the next five years.  Even worse news is that if an identity thief manages to file a tax return using your name and Social Security number before you do, it could be well over a year before you get your legitimate tax refund.  Tax identity theft is getting worse, not better and you can’t depend on the IRS to protect you.  Identity thieves who manage to steal your name and Social Security number are filing early returns with phony W-2s and getting huge refunds while your refund gets stuck in bureaucratic hell when you file your legitimate tax return.

TIPS

Their are several keys to protecting yourself from tax identity theft.  First, file early and beat the identity thieves to the punch.  Second, keep your personal information, particularly your Social Security number as protected as possible.  Identity thieves will often try to trick you into providing your Social Security number as when they tell you that you have won a contest that you have never entered  and need your Social Security number for reporting purposes.  Protect your computer’s security with a strong firewall and security software that is constantly updated.  Don’t click on links or attachments unless you are sure they are legitimate.  This is a primary way that identity thieves install keystroke logging malware on your computer through which they can steal all of the information from your computer.

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