Identity Theft

Apache is functioning normally

Apache is functioning normally

Identity thieves are almost always opportunistic—but the crimes they commit feel very personal. Unauthorized credit card charges, bogus loan applications, missing money, and other financial violations make fraud a major nightmare. To keep fraud in check, you need to know how to check your credit report for identity theft, and how to deal with problems when they arise.

In this post, we’ll talk about the warning signs of identity theft—and then we’ll show you how to stamp out fraud before it starts.

Warning Signs of Identity Theft

How Do I Check My Credit for Identity Theft?

To avoid falling victim to identity theft, examine your credit report regularly. You can access a free copy of your credit report from all three bureaus—Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion—once a year. (Through April 2022, you can get free weekly copies of your reports.) You can also use a tool like Credit.com’s Credit Report Card or ExtraCredit to monitor your credit.

When you download your credit report with ExtraCredit, you’ll see a list of positive accounts, late accounts, collections, public records, inquiries and account balances. Your credit report contains a lot of information about you and about your financial habits, and if that information changes unexpectedly, it can indicate identity theft. Here are five of the biggest fraud warning signs to watch out for.

Warning Sign 1: Incorrect Personal Information

Sometimes, incorrect personal information is the result of an innocent mistake. Other times, it means something sinister is going on. If you see your name misspelled, a wrong phone number or address, or an incorrect Social Security number on your credit report, investigate immediately.

  • I just watched a documentary on the dark web, and I will never feel safe using my credit card again!

  • Luckily I don’t have to worry about that. I have ExtraCredit, so I get $1,000,000 ID protection and dark web scans.

  • I need that peace of mind in my life. What else do you get with ExtraCredit?

  • It’s basically everything my credit needs. I get 28 FICO® scores, rent and utility reporting, cash rewards and even a discount to one of the leaders in credit repair.

  • It’s settled; I’m getting ExtraCredit tonight. Totally unrelated, but any suggestions for my new fear of sharks? I watched that documentary too.

  • …we live in Oklahoma.

Warning Sign 2: Lender Inquiries You Don’t Recognize

Credit bureaus keep the details of companies who ask for information about you on record for at least two years. Promotional inquiries and account review inquiries  are nothing to worry about, because they’re preapproved credit offer inquiries or inquiries by companies you already do business with. 

Hard enquiries from companies you don’t recognize are a different matter. Sometimes, fraudsters make a lot of credit card and personal loan applications in a short period of time, so if you see a recent list of unknown inquiries, someone might be trying to steal your identity.

Tip: Sometimes, the name of a financial institution doesn’t precisely match the name of the company checking your credit. Car dealerships, for example, sometimes run a series of credit checks via different finance companies—so it’s worth double checking before filing a fraud complaint.

Warning Sign 3: Accounts You Never Opened

Only your own accounts—including accounts that you’ve cosigned and for which you’re an authorized user—should appear on your credit report. If you find an unknown account on your credit report, one of two things has happened:

  • Your credit information has been commingled with someone else’s information by mistake
  • Your credit has been compromised by a fraudster

If you find an unknown account on your credit report, contact the relevant lender right away and tell them what’s going on. 

Warning Sign 4: You Credit Utilization Goes Up

If you suddenly owe more than before and you haven’t changed your spending habits, someone else might be splurging on your behalf. Check your credit card statement very carefully and flag any suspicious transactions straight away. Most credit card companies have a maximum 120-day limit for chargebacks, so it’s important to review purchases regularly.

Warning Sign 5: Your Score Goes Up or Down Unexpectedly

Credit scores change over time. When negative information falls off your credit report after a certain period of time, your score increases. On the other hand, if you apply for too many loans or credit cards in a short space of time, your credit score could take a hit. If your credit score changes dramatically—especially if it’s for the worse—dig deeper.

Warning Sign 6: Public Records You Don’t Recognize

Negative public records can substantially impact your creditworthiness. Bankruptcies, for instance, often remain on record for up to a decade. If you see public records you don’t recognize, alert the issuing agency without delay. 

Tip: Liens and civil court judgments used to appear on credit reports, but credit bureaus no longer collect information about those types of public records. Bankruptcies are now the only public records included on credit reports.

Can Someone Steal Your Identity with Your Credit Report?

Your credit report contains a lot of personal information, so it’s a goldmine for identity thieves. With a copy of your report in hand, a potential fraudster might be able to see:

  • Full name
  • Birth date
  • Social Security number
  • Current and past home addresses
  • Phone number
  • Accounts held in your name
  • Payment records
  • Public records, including bankruptcies
  • Many other valuable personal and financial details

Credit report content sometimes varies according to the credit bureau. 

If thieves need more information after accessing your credit report, they often choose to misrepresent themselves to get it. Phishing and smishing scams are when criminals pretend to be legitimate financial institutions—or government agencies like the IRS—to get personal information from victims via email or text. 

What Is the Safest Way to Check My Credit Report?

You can check your credit report quickly and easily with Credit.com’s ExtraCredit monitoring service. ExtraCredit includes five helpful tools, which help you monitor, build, earn, protect, and restore your credit profile. Two tools in particular can help you avoid or combat identity fraud: Track It and Guard It.

Track It

With ExtraCredit’s Track It tool, you get access to all three credit bureau reports. You can also monitor 28 FICO® scores—the real scores lenders see when they consider auto loan, credit card, and mortgage applications. Track It also includes a helpful credit monitoring tool, which gets updated every month. If something suspicious happens, you’ll notice right away.

Guard It

Many hackers sell consumer information on the dark web. Nefarious individuals use software, specific net configurations, or special authorizations to access the dark web. Thankfully, ExtraCredit’s Guard It tool actively monitors the dark web for consumer information and sends out security alerts when data breaches happen. You also get a $1 million ID insurance policy when you sign up with ExtraCredit.

Get Identity Theft Protection

Identity theft is a big problem in the United States. There were 650,572 cases of identity theft in America in 2019—and over 270,000 of those cases involved credit card fraud. If you see an unknown address or notice an unknown credit card on your credit report, flag it up right away. Tools like ExtraCredit from Credit.com make it easier to monitor your report on a monthly basis, so you can rest more easily.

Source: credit.com

Apache is functioning normally

Apache is functioning normally

Do you think it’s possible someone stole your tax refund check? You wouldn’t be alone. In 2020, just under 1.4 million people reported cases of identity theft, and around 400,000 of those involved the theft of government benefits or documents—including tax refunds. The issue was concerning enough that the IRS started what it calls Identity Theft Central to provide information about identity theft.

Find out how identity theft happens below. Then learn what action you should take if you believe your tax refund was stolen.

How Does Identity Theft Happen?

Identity theft occurs when someone gathers enough information about you that they can impersonate you to a sufficient degree to commit fraud. For example, if someone gets enough of your sensitive personal information, they can apply for credit cards in your name. They receive the cards after approval, run up balances and never pay them because the account is all in your name. 

Another version of identity theft occurs when someone has enough information to file a fake tax return in your name. They get a refund in your name, and when you go to file your legitimate tax return, you find you can’t get a refund. Someone stole it out from under you.

Some methods people use to get the information required to commit identity theft include:

  • I just watched a documentary on the dark web, and I will never feel safe using my credit card again!

  • Luckily I don’t have to worry about that. I have ExtraCredit, so I get $1,000,000 ID protection and dark web scans.

  • I need that peace of mind in my life. What else do you get with ExtraCredit?

  • It’s basically everything my credit needs. I get 28 FICO® scores, rent and utility reporting, cash rewards and even a discount to one of the leaders in credit repair.

  • It’s settled; I’m getting ExtraCredit tonight. Totally unrelated, but any suggestions for my new fear of sharks? I watched that documentary too.

  • …we live in Oklahoma.

  • Imposter scams. The scammers email, call or otherwise contact you while pretending to be someone else, such as the IRS. They use that contact to try to get personal information out of you.
  • Social media scams. Scammers comb social media, looking for personal information people might have shared. They also use direct messages to try to get information from you.
  • Dark web databases. If your information is included in a data breach, it may be shared or sold to scammers online.
  • Checking your trash. In some cases, scammers simply go through unshredded documents in the garbage to get the information they need.

When someone uses information in this way to file a fake tax return, it’s a crime called Stolen Identity Refund Fraud. There are serious penalties for this crime. It’s always best to safeguard your private information as much as possible to reduce your risk of becoming a victim. 

How to Know if Your Tax Refund Was Stolen

The IRS provides a tool called Where’s My Refund? that lets you track the status of your refund. If you’re worried someone has filed a fake return in your name or tried to steal your refund check, use that tool to see what’s going on with your refund. You can also ask the IRS to do a refund trace to find out more about where the tax refund check or deposit went.

The IRS will also notify you when more than one return is filed in your name for a particular year. If you file a tax return and receive this notice, there’s a good chance some fraud has occurred. 

Important Steps to Take after Tax Refund Fraud

If you’ve received a notice from the IRS stating that more than one return has been filed in your name, or if you believe your identity has been used fraudulently, you should act quickly. Follow the steps below. 

1. Report the Fraud

If your Social Security number was compromised and you think you may be the victim of tax-related identity theft, file a report with your local police and file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission at www.identitytheft.gov or by calling the FTC Identity Theft Hotline at 1-877-438-4338.

2. File a Report With the IRS

Once you’ve filed a police report, file an IRS Form 14039 Identity Theft Affidavit.  Print the form and mail or fax it according to the instructions.

3. Pay Your Taxes

Be sure to continue to pay your taxes and file your tax return on time, even if you must do so by mailing in paper forms.

4. Check Your Credit Reports and Scores

Just because you were first alerted to the problem through a false tax return doesn’t mean that’s where the ID theft started.  A sudden drop in credit scores can be a sign your identity has been stolen. You should also monitor your credit reports for activity that isn’t yours.

You can get a free copy of your credit report from each of the major credit bureaus at AnnualCreditReport.com. You can also check 28 of your FICO scores and get regularly updated information about your credit reports and scores when you sign up for ExtraCredit.

5. Add Fraud Alerts to Your Credit Reports

Contact each credit bureau and add a fraud alert to your credit report. You can do this online or via phone. A fraud alert makes it harder for someone to apply for credit in your name.

6. Close Any Fraudulent Accounts

Reach out to creditors to close any accounts opened in your name fraudulently. You should also report them as fraudulent to the banks and lenders. 

7. Change All Your Passwords

Thieves know people use the same password for multiple websites and accounts. Change all your passwords immediately if you believe you’re the victim of identity theft or fraud. It’s also a good idea to change your passwords regularly, even if you aren’t a victim of identity theft. 

8. Follow Up on Your Case

If you informed the IRS about taxpayer ID theft and didn’t receive a resolution, contact the Identity Protection Specialized Unit at 1-800-908-4490 about your case. If you’re experiencing financial difficulties because of the delay, you can reach out to the taxpayer advocate service, an independent organization within the IRS, at 877-777-4778. 

9. Stay Calm & Be Patient

A typical case of ID theft can take an average of 120 days to resolve, according to the IRS. Remember that the average might not reflect your case, and it could take a year or more to resolve it.

Just remember, the IRS will eventually pay you your refund, but if you’re experiencing financial difficulties because of the delay, you can contact the taxpayer advocate service, an independent organization within the IRS, at 877-777-4778.

File Your Tax Return as Early as Possible

One of the best defenses against this type of identity theft is an early offense. Get your tax return in early to beat potential fraudsters to the punch.

Source: credit.com

How to prevent identity theft (and: What to do if you’re the victim of identity theft)

Last month, Kim was a victim of identity theft. Somebody used her debit card to make a large purchase of cosmetics.

The thief first tried a couple of test transactions for amounts of $0.01 and $0.00. (How is a $0.00 transaction even possible? I have no idea.) When those worked, she went all-in. She charged $555.90 to the account.

Fortunately, Kim has an excellent bank. USAA both phoned and texted to let her know something seemed suspicious. Then, over the next week, they worked with her to keep disruptions as minimal as possible.

Can You Prevent Identity Theft?

Identity theft is something most adults think about at some point in their life. Whether someone you know has been a victim of identity theft, or it has happened to you- identity theft is something you should be thinking about. It can be incredibly messy to clean up after an identity thief. From reporting fraud, […]

The post Can You Prevent Identity Theft? appeared first on Credit Absolute.

A Guide For Victims Of Tax Related Identity Theft

A Guide For Victims Of Tax Related Identity Theft

Being a victim of tax related identity theft can leave you scrambling to take the proper steps to set things right. Here’s are the things you need to do.

The post A Guide For Victims Of Tax Related Identity Theft appeared first on Bible Money Matters and was written by Peter Anderson. Copyright © Bible Money Matters – please visit biblemoneymatters.com for more great content.