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How Much Time Is Spent In Identity Theft Recovery?

How Much Time Is Spent In Identity Theft Recovery?

Becoming a victim of identity theft can be devastating in many ways. Your sense of safety can feel compromised and your financial well-being can be jeopardized. One way that is often overlooked is the sheer amount of time that can be stolen from you as well. How much time is spent in identity theft recovery? We hope to provide you with a clearer picture and show you another reason why your security is so important.

What Is The Time Frame For Identity Theft Recovery?

Short answer: It depends. Let’s say you find one fraudulent charge in one of your bank accounts. You’d immediately identify your institution, close this account and open a new, secure account. You’d also check all of your other accounts/assets in search of additional breaches (as well as keep an eye on them daily for the foreseeable future). In this case, you would probably be done within the course of a day.

However, if you were the victim of a more severe case, with the thief using your information to obtain health care or open multiple new accounts, you could be looking at an ongoing issue. This may take months and tens of hours of mantime to restore your good standing.

The most extreme cases can take up to a year and hundreds of hours to recover.

How Can I Speed Up Recovery Time?

The first thing you can do is report any fraud as quickly as possible. The faster you identify a threat, the less time they have to do damage. You’ll also want to immediately file a report with the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) and flag your credit file for fraud with each of the credit bureaus.

The easiest way to save time is to have a membership with a reputable identity theft recovery service. For example, ReclaimMyID will do all of the legwork to recover your identity and your assets once you report a theft. This includes contacting your financial institutions, credit bureaus, etc. A modest yearly fee can save you hours of time and months of insecurity.

How much time is spent in identity theft recovery? We hope that the answer to this question is more clear to you now. Your time is precious, so don’t allow identity theft to steal it from you (along with your financial security).

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Avoiding Tax Return Identity Theft

Tax Fraud Protection

With the amount of technology that has been integrated into our lives, the topic of identity theft is at the forefront of many people’s minds. Having your credit card, banking or financial information stolen is a popular fear. If this information finds its way into the wrong hands, you could be in for a long battle to recover your assets. However, there is one type of identity theft that isn’t as well known, but is just as dangerous –  tax returns. Avoiding tax return identity theft should be a priority and there are a few steps you should take to protect yourself.

What Is Tax Return Identity Theft?

When a someone obtains your social security number and files a fraudulent tax return in your name and receives the refund. This can be a difficult form of identity theft to detect because there’s really no way to know a return has already been filed until you attempt to file on your own (unless the IRS informs you of a suspicious filing).

How Do I Avoid Tax Return Identity Theft?

There are a few, simple guidelines to follow which will offer you some protection against tax return identity theft.

  • File Your Return As Early As Possible
    • Your taxes aren’t due until April 15th, but that doesn’t mean you should wait until the last minute. In fact, the earlier you can file your tax return, the better. The longer you wait, the more time a thief will have to file a return in your name. This is one of the keys to avoiding tax return identity theft.
  • Leave Your Social Security Card At Home
    • Those 9 numbers are all a thief needs to file a tax return in your name. With that info, it is very simple to find out any additional information that may be required. Your Social Security number is what the IRS uses to identify you. You have to make sure it is secure. Don’t keep your card in your wallet and don’t carry around any documentation that has your Social Security number on it.
  • Make Sure Your Computer Is Protected
    • You want to make sure that your home PC is protected via a secure network. Also, have a firewall and security software installed and running at all times. In the same vein, you want to use strong passwords when signing up for websites. This will make it more difficult for your information to be hacked.
  • Protect Your Financial Information
    • The previous bullet point covered how to protect your information online, but physical copies also need to be protected. Keep important documents locked inside your home. Don’t provide sensitive information over the phone or computer, unless you are certain of who you’re providing the information to.

Threats to your identity are becoming more and more prevalent, but avoiding tax return identity theft is something that can be accomplished. Follow these tips and you’ll be well on your way.