Tax season presents the perfect opportunity for consumers to fall prey to identity thieves seeking to gain access to important financial information, reports IdentityTruth, a company that helps consumers safeguard their privacy and identity, warns that identity thieves could be lurking and ready to steal personal data.
According to a recent report by MSNBC, identity thieves are actively targeting tax returns. As the use of personal computers to prepare important financial documents for tax filing increases, so has the incidence of fraudulent tax returns. In fact, according to the FTC’s 2008 Consumer Sentinel Network, the incidence of fraudulent tax returns increased 4 percent from 2007.
“Every day, reports are being released about the growth of identity theft associated with tax information,” said Steven Domenikos, CEO of IdentityTruth. “Identity thieves are actually able to re-route people’s tax returns or file in their name. Given the current economic climate, consumers need to be more vigilant now than ever before.”
IdentityTruth has compiled a list of tips that consumers should keep in mind this tax season.
– Beware of calls from the “IRS”: If you receive a phone call from the IRS asking for personal information, hang up because it’s a scam. Fraudsters call asking for your account number and bank routing number to deposit your refund. Armed with that information, they can in fact set up an electronic debit and siphon funds from your account. Contact the IRS Taxpayers Advocates to report it.
– The IRS does NOT email taxpayers: You may receive emails pretending to be from the IRS asking for your personal information. This is a scam. Identity thieves use these “phishing” attempts to solicit personal information for future misuse. The IRS does NOT communicate with taxpayers via email. Visit their site for more information.
– Don’t use online filing programs: Make sure the tax filing…