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Showing posts from February, 2020

IdentityTheft.gov 101

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MoneyTips The news seems to be filled with stories about hackers and identity theft these days, and rightly so. According to the 2019 Identity Fraud Study released by Javelin Strategy & Research, there were 14.4 million victims of identity theft in 2018, racking up a total of $15 billion in damages. Let MoneyTips protect your credit and your identity with a free trial . As a victim of identity theft , you can feel completely helpless and violated — not to mention aggravated at the hassles involved in restoring your identity and challenging fraudulent charges. You were already busy before the identity theft occurred, and it can be almost impossible to keep track of all the... from MoneyTips https://ift.tt/38kxrFH

How To Avoid Being A Tax-Scam Victim

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MoneyTips To paraphrase the old adage, there are only three absolutes in life: death, taxes, and the rise of scams during tax season. A major tax scam since 2013 involves phone calls by fictional IRS agents that demand immediate payment for alleged tax debts, threatening lawsuits or even jail time to those who refused to comply. The more sophisticated version of this includes spoofing a legitimate IRS phone number to fool caller-ID systems. The callers also have Social Security numbers and enough personal information to convince the taxpayer that the call is legitimate. From October 2013 to September 2018, the Treasury Inspector General's office identified 14,700 confirmed victims, who were swindled out of more than $72 million through this particular scam. Other scammers use a carrot instead of a stick. Another significant scam claimed that consumers had been awarded a governme... from MoneyTips https://ift.tt/2OLRvJl

Prevent Identity Theft From Affecting Your Taxes

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MoneyTips When your identity is stolen, you have so many potential issues to deal with — changing passwords, closing accounts, dealing with fraudulent charges, and placing fraud alerts with the credit reporting agencies — that you may forget about potential tax fraud. Armed with your personal information, identity thieves can file a fraudulent tax return in your name and receive a refund before you realize your information has been compromised. Sometimes taxpayers are unaware of the breach until they have problems filing their taxes. What do you do if you fall victim to tax-related identity theft ? Start by responding to any IRS notice as instructed. Your first hint that there is an issue could be a notice from the IRS asking you to verify your identity because of a suspicious tax return with your Social Security number. Remember that almost all legitimate IRS contact will be through a letter in the ... from MoneyTips https://ift.tt/2RXQTSS