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Identity Thieves File Your Taxes for You? Here’s What You Need to Do Next
With data breaches happening everywhere from Target to Equifax, it’s likely that your personal information has been compromised.
Few things are worse than working hard all year and finally sitting down to file your taxes only to find out a scammer got hold of your Social Security number, has already filed for you, and has taken the tax refund that’s rightfully yours.
That’s why the Federal Trade Commission and the IRS just took a step to ease some of stress if you ever need to report tax-related identity theft.
They created the secure website IdentityTheft.gov to help you file an electronic report and walk you through the steps you need to take to start putting your life back together again.
Before now, the only way to report tax-related identity theft to the IRS was to manually file. If you are a victim and need to report, remember that the new website is the only place to electronically report your claim.
According to an FTC checklist on IdentityTheft.gov, victims of identity theft need to do a few things immediately when they realize their information has been used fraudulently:
Here’s another idea: Credit Sesame helps you avoid identity theft by keeping a watchful eye your finances.
Credit Sesame’s free identity theft protection will alert you to important changes in your credit report (like someone trying to apply for credit in your name), and it offers $50,000 in identity theft insurance.
You will have the option to create an account where all your information and recovery plan will be saved. If you choose not to create an account, you can still file a report, but you won’t be able to access the form or the personal recovery plan again online. You will have to print your own copy if you need to reference it later.
IdentityTheft.gov has even more things you can do after you’ve taken the immediate steps. For example, if a scammer opened new accounts in your name, you should close them, and you may also want to file a police report in case criminal charges can be filed.
Desiree Stennett (@desi_stennett) is a staff writer at ThePennyHoarder.com. She writes about how government and court action impact your wallet.
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