TAX ID THEFT
More than your refund is at risk.
The problem: Your tax
return could be at-
tractive to an identity
thief even if you are
not owed a refund.
Filing for a refund
using a stolen iden-
tity is still the most
prevalent form of tax
ID theft, although
new security proto-
cols have made it
more difficult. In
the past, a criminal
needed only your
name, date of birth
and Social Security
Number (SSN) to file
a tax return in your
name, because he or
she could make up the
other details, includ-
ing W-2 information,
to claim an outsize
refund. Now a thief
may need more infor-
mation to beat the
system.
Although stolen
identity refund fraud
remains a threat,
employment-related
identity theft—in
which a crook earns
wages under your
SSN—is on the rise,
says Lisa Weintraub
Schifferle, the Federal
Trade Commission’s
identity theft pro-
gram manager. An-
other type of tax
fraud involves some-
one claiming your
children as his or her
dependents.
You probably won’telectronic filing is
rejected because a
return has already
been submitted using
your SSN.How to avoid it: Filing
your return as early
as you can—even if
you owe money—is
the only way to beat
a thief to the punch.
If you are filing elec-
tronically, stick with
a secure internet con-
nection. Don’t use un-
familiar tax software
or a new tax preparerwithout screening
for complaints and
checking for scams.
Victims of tax fraud
will be assigned an
Identity Protection
(IP) PIN. Residents of
California, Delaware,
Florida, Georgia,
Illinois, Maryland,
Michigan, Nevada,
Rhode Island and theknow that you are
a victim of tax fraud
until the Internal
Revenue Service
tells you, or your