It is now a fact of life, you or someone in your family will probably be a victim of identity theft in some form over the year. However, you can reduce the impact of this happening by developing some routines that may discover the security breach early in its stages.
My wife and I have a PayPal account we use for our little antique business hobby. We received an email from PayPal that our PayPal debit card had been used for a couple of small transaction just before Thanksgiving. We never activated the debit card so we knew this was a security breach. We immediately contacted PayPal who cancelled the card. Due to Thanksgiving, it took a little longer, but they refunded the money that was charged in increasing amounts over the week. We had to keep on top of them to make sure they did it.
Here are some ways you can minimize damage that the IRS recommends:
1. Read your credit card and banking statements carefully and often – watch for even the smallest charge that appears suspicious. (Neither your credit card nor bank – or the IRS – will send you emails asking for sensitive personal and financial information such as asking you to update your account.)
2. Review and respond to all notices and correspondence from the Internal Revenue Service. Warning signs of tax-related identity theft can include IRS notices about tax returns you did not file, income you did not receive or employers you’ve never heard of or where you’ve never worked. 3. Review each of your three credit reports at least once a year. Visit annualcreditreport.com to get your free reports.
4. Review your annual Social Security income statement for excessive income reported. You can sign up for an electronic account at www.SSA.gov.
5. Read your health insurance statements; look for claims you never filed or care you never received.
6. Shred any documents with personal and financial information. Never toss documents with your personally identifiable information, especially your social security number, in the trash.
7. If you receive any routine federal deposit such as Social Security Administrator or Department of Veterans Affairs benefits, you probably receive those deposits electronically. You can use the same direct deposit process for your federal and state tax refund. IRS direct deposit is safe and secure and places your tax refund directly into the financial account of your choice.
To learn additional steps you can take to protect your personal and financial data, visit Taxes. Security. Together. You also can read Publication 4524, Security Awareness for Taxpayers.