Useful Links: IRS.gov Help For Hurricane Victims
News Essentials What's Hot News Releases IRS - The Basics IRS Guidance Media Contacts Facts & Figures Around The Nation e-News Subscriptions
The Newsroom Topics Multimedia Center Noticias en Español Radio PSAs Tax Scams/Consumer Alerts The Tax Gap Fact Sheets IRS Tax Tips Armed Forces Latest News
IRS Resources Compliance & Enforcement News Contact Your Local IRS Office Filing Your Taxes Forms & Instructions Frequently Asked Questions Taxpayer Advocate Service Where to File IRS Social Media
| Issue Number: Tax Tip 2018–27 Inside This Issue
Steps Victims Can Take to Minimize Effect of Data Theft Every day, the theft of personal and financial information puts people at risk of identity theft. Generally, thieves try to use the stolen data as quickly as possible to: - Sell the information to other criminals.
- Withdraw money from a bank account.
- Make credit card purchases.
- File a fraudulent tax return for a refund using victims' names.
Victims of a data loss should follow these steps to minimize the effect of the theft: - Try to determine what information the thieves compromised. Compromised information may include emails and passwords, or more sensitive data, such as name and Social Security number.
- Take advantage of credit monitoring services when offered by the affected organization.
- Place a freeze on credit accounts to prevent access to credit records. It varies by state, but there may be a fee to place a freeze on an account. At a minimum, victims should place a fraud alert on their credit accounts by contacting one of the three major credit bureaus. A fraud alert isn't as secure as a freeze, but it's free.
- Reset passwords on online accounts, especially those of financial sites and email and social media accounts. Use different passwords for each account. Some experts recommend at least 10-digit passwords, mixing letters, numbers and special characters. Victims may also wish to consider using a password manager or app.
- Use multi-factor authentication, when available. Some financial institutions, email providers and social media sites allow users to set their accounts for multi-factor authentication, which requires a security code, usually sent as a text to their mobile phone, in addition to a username and password.
All taxpayers should keep a copy of their tax return. Taxpayers using a software product for the first time may need their Adjusted Gross Income amount from their prior-year tax return to verify their identity. Taxpayers can learn more about how to verify their identity and electronically sign tax returns at Validating Your Electronically Filed Tax Return. More Information: Share this tip on social media -- #IRSTaxTip: Steps Victims Can Take to Minimize Effect of Data Theft. https://go.usa.gov/xnM45 Back to Top
Thank you for subscribing to IRS Tax Tips, an IRS e-mail service. For more information on federal taxes please visit IRS.gov. This message was distributed automatically from the IRS Tax Tips mailing list. Please Do Not Reply To This Message. |
No comments:
Post a Comment