Tax Time Identity Theft
Published: January 31st, 2019Tax ID Theft Awareness Week
This week is Tax Identity Theft Awareness Week and the perfect opportunity for you to take steps to mitigate your risk of having your tax return money stolen.
How You Know
Tax Identity theft occurs when a social security number is stolen and thieves use that number to steal your tax return. You may find out about it from the IRS who will send you a letter showing a tax return as already processed or IRS records that show income earned from an employer you don't know. Sometimes the IRS can reject the efiled tax return as a duplicate.
Steps to Take
Here are a few steps you can take to fight tax identity theft.
- File your return as early in the tax season as you can.
- Use a secure internet connection if you file electronically or mail your tax return from the post office.
- Visit Tax-Related Identity theft to learn about tax ID fraud.
Victim of the Scam?
If you think that someone has stolen your identity and your tax return start by going to Identitytheft.gov and click get started to report it.
Source: Gressin, S. (2019, January 30). Fight back against tax identity theft. Retrieved from https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/blog/2019/01/fight-back-against-tax-identity-theft?utm_source=govdelivery
