Taxes: How to Protect Your Identity

Tax time is also scam time. There are some things you need to do when filing your taxes to protect your identity, and protect yourself from being scammed…

If you think you’ve become a victim of identity theft or fraud, act immediately to minimize the damage to your personal funds and financial accounts, as well as your reputation. Here are some things you can do to protect your identity:

1. Contact the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to report the situation, whether Online,

2. By telephone toll-free at 1-877-ID THEFT (877-438-4338) or TDD at 202-326-2502, or

3. By mail to Consumer Response Center, FTC, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC 20580.

You may also need to contact other agencies for other types of identity theft:

1. Your local office of the Postal Inspection Service if you suspect that an identity thief has submitted a change-of-address form with the Post Office to redirect your mail, or has used the mail to commit frauds involving your identity;

2. The Social Security Administration if you suspect that your Social Security number is being fraudulently used (call 800-269-0271 to report the fraud);

3. The Internal Revenue Service if you suspect the improper use of identification information in connection with tax violations (call 1-800-829-0433 to report the violations).

You also need to immediately contact the three principal credit reporting agencies.

Learn more at the Department of Justice website.