With so many people working at home and/or out-of-work due to Covid-19, we are hearing about an uptick in scams. These scams range from calls indicating a balance due with IRS that needs to be paid immediately or face arrest to having your social security number canceled or suspended.
Many people panic when you hear on the other end of the phone that if you do not pay a balance due you will be arrested within minutes. This causes people to release personal information. This information can include social security numbers and bank account information. This can be extremely time consuming and cause irreparable damage to credit scores and financial lives.
As technology changes, so does the scammer’s tactics. Emails are now being sent out to individuals with altered logos looking almost identical to the IRS logo. Know that IRS will never email you unless you have been assigned a case with IRS. This would happen after you receive a letter from IRS and have made contact to resolve the issue. IRS always contacts via a letter first.
In times of natural disasters or the current pandemic, scammers take advantage of people’s generosity. Phone calls to get you to donate to disaster relief funds or other charities need to be researched before you donate. Do your homework; does the relief fund exist, where do the donations really go, is this a valid charity? IRS has a tool that you can use to look up a charity to see if listed as a qualified 501c3 nonprofit organization. You can find the tool at https://apps.irs.gov/app/eos/.
What can you do to protect yourself? Never give out personal information over the phone to anyone unless you initiated the call. Hang up immediately, saying as little as possible.
Write down as much information as you can when you receive a phone call. The more you can report the better chance these scammers can be caught. You can report the information and type of scam on IRS’s website. Depending on the type of scam depends on how you report it. The chart for reporting scams can be found at: https://www.irs.gov/individuals/how-do-you-report-suspected-tax-fraud-activity.
If you receive a letter from IRS and want to be sure it is truly from IRS, the recommendation is to have your tax preparer review the letter for not only accuracy but for validity. Do not call the phone number on the letter. Look up and find a phone number on the IRS website to insure you actually reach the IRS.
If you believe your identity has been stolen or compromised, immediately put a freeze on your credit. You will need to do this with each of the three agencies – Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. This freeze will stay on your credit until you remove it. There is currently no charge to remove a credit freeze.
If you are not looking to take out a loan or open a credit account, you can leave the freeze on your credit for as long as you would like. If you want to open a loan or credit account, you will need to remove the freeze so a credit check can be done as part of the loan process. By placing a freeze on your credit, you are ensuring that no one other than you can open accounts in your name and social security number.
You should also consider putting a freeze on your children’s credit in addition to your own credit. Children and deceased individuals are the most stolen social security numbers. Many people do not know their child’s social security number has been stolen until they receive a letter from IRS about an issue or in some cases when the child goes to apply for student loans for college.
Deceased individuals are also a target for stolen social security numbers. When cleaning out someone’s house paperwork should be shredded instead of thrown into a garbage can.
Anything containing personal information that can be used to steal an identity should be securely disposed of. This could be a tax return, bank statement, or even a computer that has a hard drive that has not been wiped clean. Addresses and phone numbers are public record so do not be concerned about them. Anything containing a Social Security number or medical insurance information can provide enough information to steal an identity.
There are some ways you can help protect your social security number and credit. Keep passwords safe and do not autosave your passwords on websites. Do not keep credit card information on file for websites you normally use. If the site is hacked, your credit card information is now at risk. Always remember to close credit cards that you have paid off and are no longer using.
Review your credit report from each of the three agencies at least once a year, ideally review every four months. You can get a free copy of your report from each of the three agencies at annualCreditReport.com. Always remember to be sure of who you are giving personal information out to. These small and quick tips can help you avoid the time, hassle, and devastation that can come with having your personal information stolen.