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Tax Identity Theft Awareness Week – Day Three

Active Duty Military

As Tax Identity Theft Awareness Week continues, brought to us by the FTC, today’s focus was on protecting active duty military. Here are the highlights from Tax Identity Theft Awareness Week – Day Three.

Protecting Our Military

Our active duty military personnel are at a disadvantage when it comes to monitoring themselves for identity theft. While overseas, most military have limited access to their accounts and this can leave them more prone to fraudulent activity. It is difficult for them to receive e-mails or notifications regarding their credit or financial accounts.

Active Duty Credit Alerts

For those deployed in the active military, you have the option to set up Active Duty Credit alerts, for free, with the three main credit reporting bureaus. Please contact one of the following:

  • TransUnion 1‑800‑680‑7289
  • Equifax 1‑800‑525‑6285
  • Experian 1‑888‑397‑3742

State that you are an active duty member of the military and ask for an Active Duty Credit Alert to be placed on your file. You will need to provide specific forms of identification.

What Will This Do?

Placing a credit alert on your account will require lenders to go through additional steps in order to verify that you are actually requesting credit. Generally, they will try and contact you (or a representative – more on that in a bit) via a telephone number you provide.

Find A Representative

When setting up your credit alert, you have the ability to appoint a personal representative. This will give the assigned person the legal authority to act on your behalf on credit issues. This makes it much easier if you should want to apply for credit while deployed.

Your Active Duty Credit Alert will stay on your file for one year. This is an extra layer of protection which will give you peace of mind while you focus on your duties.

The FTC has done an outstanding job bringing to light a vast amount of information regarding tax ID theft this week. We hope that this information from Tax Identity Theft Awareness Week – Day Three has been helpful. We support our troops and thank them for their service!

 

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Tax Identity Theft Awareness Week – Day One

Stess of ID Theft

Coinciding with the first day of tax season, the Federal Trade Commission has dubbed January 29 – February 2 as ‘Tax Identity Theft Awareness Week’. The goal is to provide Americans with facts about tax ID theft and tips to help prevent tax fraud. Here are the highlights from Tax Identity Theft Awareness Week – Day One.

Tax Identity Theft Webinar Provides Eye-Opening Statistics

On the first day of Tax Identity Theft Awareness Week, the FTC and ITRC (Identity Theft Resource Center) offered up the free ‘Tax Identity Theft Warning Signs & Recovery Steps Webinar’. Much of the webinar focused on “What is tax identity theft?” and how to avoid it. However, the webinar did provide some statistics that really got our attention.

We have covered extensively the sheer amount of time that can be spent recovering your identity, should it be stolen. What most people don’t consider is the psychological and physical effect having your identity stolen can have on you. In their 2017 study ‘Identity Theft: The Aftermath’, the ITRC found some extremely disturbing data. They conducted a survey of former identity theft victims and their answers bring a great deal of insight as to how a person can be affected.

  • How distressing was the misuse or attempted misuse of your personal info?
    • 75% were severely distressed
    • 17% were moderately distressed
    • Less the 2% were uneffected

Over ¾ of victims were severely distressed. This is staggering and leads into the next set of data…

  • Behavioral & Physical Reactions Caused By Distress
    • 48% encountered sleep disturbances
    • 37% felt an inability to concentrate
    • 35% felt fatigue
    • 34% encountered headaches
    • 27% encountered panic attacks
    • 25% sought professional help
    • 20% turned to family and friends
    • 13% wanted professional help but couldn’t afford it

Identity theft doesn’t just affect you financially, medically or criminally, it can cause mental, physical and behavioral issues.

This is why having an identity theft recovery service, such as ReclaimMyID on your side BEFORE an encounter is extremely important. These services will do all of the legwork to recover your identity, assets and put everything back together. Not only does this save you time, but it will save you stress and even help prevent physical or mental reactions to these stresses.

To learn more about Reclaim My ID, click HERE.

IRS Imposter Scams Remain A Threat

Many of us are aware of the numerous IRS imposter scams that have been ongoing for the past few years. Basically, someone will call you and pretend to be an employee of the IRS. They will inform you of an issue with your taxes that must be remedied immediately to avoid consequences or jail time. They will expect immediate payment and can be very forceful and believable. Many imposters will even go so far as to rig the caller ID to come up as IRS or with a 202 area code (Washington D.C.). Here are a few tips to help you avoid being scammed:

  • The IRS will almost always try and contact you via mail before making a phone call.
  • The IRS will never expect immediate payment via a pre-paid debit card or wire transfer.
  • Don’t believe e-mails claiming to be from the IRS. This is a common follow-up after an imposter phone call.
  • If you have any doubts, call IRS at 800-829-1040.

Imposter scams have been decreasing since October 2016, but it is still important to notify the proper authorities if you encounter one. Please contact the following with any information:

  • TIGTA = Treasury Inspector General for TAx Administration
    • Tigta.gov
    • 800-366-4484
  • FTC
    • ftc.gov/complaint
    • 877-FTC-HELP

These are the highlights from Tax Identity Theft Awareness Week – Day One. We will keep you updated with information from the rest of the week. Your security during tax season is our #1 objective.

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Weekly Security Habits You Need To Start

Weekly Security Habits You Need To Start

Everyone has routines that they follow throughout a given week. Whether it is taking out the trash on Wednesdays or vacuuming on Sundays, most likely you have things you do to keep your life on track. Well, protecting your identity should be something you make a habit of each and every week. We’ve compiled a few weekly security habits you need to start today.

Update Your Passwords

The most common password for internet logins is ‘password’. This also means that it’s the easiest to guess. If your passwords aren’t up to par, take a few minutes each week to review your logins. Create new, strong passwords to ensure your security on your favorite websites. You should have unique passwords for each website and they should be changed periodically. Often we save credit card and personal information on these websites, so we must ensure it doesn’t fall into the wrong hands.

Keep An Eye On Your Financial Statements

Monitoring your financials is extremely important. Make it easy on yourself and take one day out of the week to monitor bank and credit card statements. This also includes online wallets such as Apple Pay and PayPal. You’re looking for anything out of the ordinary or suspicious. It’s a great idea to also check your credit score if your credit card offers this free service.

Protect Your Social Media

Social Media has become such a large part of most people’s lives, but we often don’t put much thought into it. We post personal photos and our most personal thoughts. Are your security settings as strong as they can be? Take a few minutes each week to review your settings and review what is posted on your social media. You want to keep your personal information between you and the people you trust.

Spending just a few minutes, a few days a week, can add an extra level of security in your life. These are weekly security habits you need to start and stick to in order to protect your information.

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New Year’s Resolutions To Protect Your Identity

New Year's Resolutions To Protect Your Identity

New year, new threats to your identity. The old ones haven’t gone anywhere either. With each passing year, protecting your personal and financial information becomes more important. Many of us set goals to better ourselves at the beginning of a year. Well, it’s important to set new year’s resolutions to protect your identity also. Here are a few tips to keep you safe in 2018.

Keep An Eye On Your Credit

Did you know that you are entitled to one free copy of your credit report from each of the three major credit reporting agencies per year? That’s three separate reports. You can request a report from all three at once. However, if you spread them out, you can keep an eye on your credit throughout the year. Set a calendar reminder in your phone or e-mail for the first, second and third trimesters of the year. For example, one in February, one in July and one in November. You will be able to see how your credit score changes throughout the year as well as see if any fraudulent activity is listed.

Say No To Debit Cards

Many people use debit cards because they are easy. The money is taken directly from your bank account. There is no risk of spending above your means like there is with a credit card. However, the fact of the matter is that you don’t have the same protections with a debit card that you do with a credit card. If your credit card information is stolen, a fraudulent charge can be removed by your credit card company, no matter the amount. If a fraudulent charge is placed on your debit card, oftentimes you only have protection up to $50. As you can imagine, this can leave you out of a lot of money. So, ditch the debit card or at least use it with the credit function.

There’s no better time than now to add some new security measures to your repertoire. Follow these new year’s resolutions to protect your identity and you’ll be closer to doing just that.

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How To Identify A Secure Website

How To Identify A Secure Website

The sheer number of websites that are available on the internet is simply staggering. Every website wants to grab your attention in order to get you to visit. For example, listing extremely low prices on popular items or through a blog referencing common search terms, you are the object of their affection. The fact of the matter is that not all websites are safe to browse, let alone make a purchase or enter your personal information through. Learning how to identify a secure website is paramount to your internet safety. Making sure that a website is secure is extremely important, especially when online shopping but also as a general rule.

Two Ways To Identify A Secure Website

  • Check The Website’s URL – Secure websites protect your information through an SSL certificate. SSL stands for Secure Sockets Layer, a security technology which is a global standard. SSL encrypts your personal information when it is submitted through a website. In essence, it takes your information and encodes in in a way that only authorized individuals/parties can access it. One way to identify whether a website is protected through an SSL certificate is by looking at the website URL:
    • Secure websites will have a URL that begins with https://
    • Unsecure websites will have a URL that begins with http://

Finding the ‘s’ in the URL is how to identify a secure website.

  • Look For A Closed Lock Near The URL – Another “key” (pun intended) to identifying a secure website is to look for a closed lock symbol near the URL. This lock is an indication from the web browser that the site you’re currently visiting is secure through an SSL certificate. This lock is not just a symbol though. You can click the lock and view information about a specific website’s SSL certificate.

One of the most important factors in staying safe online is learning how to identify a secure website. Before you submit any personal or banking information, make sure the website has your protection in mind by following the steps listed above.