Speaking of Identity Theft

[Outta Here]

In another thread here in Townhall, the mention of identity theft sparked an interest in me. Identity theft has happened to me twice already and our personal information has been breached 4 times. Currently I am still waiting for my 2014 tax refund because of identity theft--still! And I'm starting to get anxiety about filing this year's tax returns. Ugh.

Am I the only one this has happened to here? Anyone else experience the nightmare of identity theft?

___________

Note: I'm fairly certain that information I've shared here on CA had no impact on my identity security._

 

[rudywoofs (Pam)]

the only thing that ever happened to me was the theft of a credit card #...   I found out about it when I checked my account online and saw a purchase of over $200 in the Ukraine for cigarettes.  I've never been in the Ukraine, nor have I ever bought cigarettes..

[Naomi]

Aubery I am sorry that has happened to you.  I realize it would create much inconvenience.

As for myself, I have and still do much of my personal business on-line.....when one travels a great deal it is a God-send.  A couple of times the Fraud Prevention dept of one of my credit cards have called to verify  a purchase  charged to my account.  In both cases the charges were legitimate.  I appreciate their overseeing of my  cards.  I do not give  personal information with  places that I may feel are questionable and try to use pay pal as much as possible.

[Jeannieb43]

Just a thought about income tax refunds.   My accountant usually has any refund which is due me applied toward the next year's taxes.   That way, no money changes hands, and it saves me from worrying about how much I'll have to pay next year.  Also it avoids having the money "out there" and subject to being stolen.

[Gail]

I have had my debit card compromised twice but in each case the bank called me to let me know and I had to go in to be issued a new card. I don't believe I have ever had a credit card raped (cause that is what it feels like).

I wouldn't know where to begin trying to reclaim my identity if it was stolen! My brain is thinking, NIGHTMARE

[phkrause]

Sorry to hear that Aubrey. I pray to God every day that this never happens to me. I know this is not a comfort to those that its happen too. Not sure why some and not others!

[Outta Here]

One nice thing I've found is that the IRS really isn't out to get the taxpayers. At least, not the IRS people I've been working with. They've even assigned me a taxpayer advocate who's working with me as a liason between me and the IRS. She's employed by the Federal Government and NOT the IRS. I should have last year's issues resolved by the end of this month.

Whew. 

[aka]

The only way I can think of avoiding Identity Theft is to:

*Just use paypal and not any other credit institution Online

*Keep changing password

Now tell me how Identity Theft actually takes place?

[Tom Wetmore]

I once had a bank fraud investigator contact me to verify my identity because someone had applied for credit at the bank in my name.  I don't remember if it was a loan or a credit card.  But after a number of significantly probing questions the investigator was satisfied that her. Suspicions of attempted ID theft had occurred she disclosed the info that had been used for the application. It was flagged because it was somewhat dated, leaving a gap in current info.  As nearly as We could determine it was quite probably compromised personnel info from a previous employer.  Not sure if it was illegally accessing files or old files not properly disposed of.  This was before they would have been electronic and I suspected that the files had not been shredded and the crook got them dumpster diving.  Ever since I have been a compulsive shredder of anything that has any personal info.  

 

[Gregory Matthews]

1) My credit card has been compromised several times.  In 2014 it  was replaced three (3) times.

2) My bank has telephoned me several times to ask if an attempted charge was valid.  Some were.  Others were not.  Out of this I have learned to telephone the bank before I traveled and inform them of the dates and areas to which I would be traveling.

3)  I now have a chip card and so far  it has not been compromised.

4)  Debit card:  I prefer not to use mine.  My entire account can be cleared out.  Federal law does not give the protections for a debit card that Federal law provides for a credit card.  Your bank may (?) provide you with the same protections, but it is not required to do so.  My bank provided substantial fraud protections for a debit card, but that is simply their choice.

 

[Aliensanctuary]

Every six months I have a fraud alert put on my credit file with the three credit bureaus because of a possible theft of info from my personal computer. 

I now, never, ever use a debit card, only use the bank card rarely as a credit card.
I no longer use ATM's.
I use only one credit card for all of my transactions, unless a business won't accept AmEx.
I do call the AmEx number occasionally to monitor my balance and transactions.
I no longer do my banking online and have blocked my bank accounts from being accessed online.
I use my old cell phone, which isn't a smart phone, to access my accounts and monitor the transactions.

We once had a weird monthly charge on my bank account from UMGDentPro. We didn't know how that got started, but the bank stopped the transactions and refunded some of the money that was taken. I think it was about $9.95 per month or so. This was before I blocked online access to our accounts.

AmEx has been good as far as removing any transactions that we didn't authorize. KOA was an example. They charged us for a day that we didn't stay, so AmEx credited us the money.

We're all sitting ducks when it comes to ID Theft. We can only hope that any business or organization that has our personal info won't be hacked or have a rogue employee steal it.

[aka]

Thank you so much, AS. Your post as well as the others have enlightened me to areas of possible ITheft. Most of what you mentioned doing is what we also are doing already.

[Gregory Matthews]

AS has given some good advice.

The advice as to the use of a debit card is of value and what I do.  I very rarely use mine.

As to online banking:  For over 30 years I have used an online bank that does not have local offices to which you can enter and transact business.  They are set up for international business, online.  They specialize in accounts for people who travel and live internationally.  As such, they have extensive fraud prevention and they have specialized methods of conducting their business that is ahead of most other banks.

 

 

[Outta Here]

All great advice. None of which is helpful to preventing someone else from filing a fraudulent tax return under your name. By estimates of both the IRS and the tax advocate, this happened to 12 million U.S. tax payers last year.

[rudywoofs (Pam)]

there isn't anything to prevent someone from filing a tax return under a fraudulent name, if they have your basic information..  

I'm sure you've read this, but here's what the IRS states to help prevent it from happening:

Tips to protect you from becoming a victim of identity theft

• Don’t carry your Social Security card or any documents with your SSN or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) on it.
• Don’t give a business your SSN or ITIN just because they ask. Give it only when required.
• Protect your financial information.
• Check your credit report every 12 months.
• Secure personal information in your home.
• Protect your personal computers by using firewalls, anti-spam/virus software, update security patches and change passwords for Internet accounts.
• Don’t give personal information over the phone, through the mail or on the Internet unless you have initiated the contact or you are sure you know who you are dealing with.

[Aliensanctuary]

Quote

there isn't anything to prevent someone from filing a tax return under a fraudulent name,

Normally I withhold one to two thousand dollars over my tax liability as a kind of savings that I can't access until I get the refund check, but in 2015 I stopped withholding when I almost reached my tax liability. If someone were to file fraudulent tax returns in my name they would owe instead of getting a check. I think I'm going to file paper returns for 2015 tax year and beyond.

[aka]

Thanks a  lot for all the good tips.

 

[Outta Here]

On 1/18/2016 at 1:33 AM, Aliensanctuary said:

Normally I withhold one to two thousand dollars over my tax liability as a kind of savings that I can't access until I get the refund check, but in 2015 I stopped withholding when I almost reached my tax liability. If someone were to file fraudulent tax returns in my name they would owe instead of getting a check. I think I'm going to file paper returns for 2015 tax year and beyond.

Paper returns are all I've ever filed. They don't stop the fraudulent returns from happening either. In fact, the IRS assures me, filing online with a PIN number as soon as possible is the best course of action to getting your refund faster.

[phkrause]

19 hours ago, Aubrey said:

In fact, the IRS assures me, filing online with a PIN number as soon as possible is the best course of action to getting your refund faster.

I filed my taxes for many years online. I got my returns within 7-10 days. State took a little longer.