One way that some people find out they’ve been victims of identity theft is because they go to file their taxes and discover that they’ve already been filed by someone else. Another is when people who are exempt from filing, for whatever reason, learn that a return was filed for them anyway. A recommendation by the Taxpayer Advocacy Panel, if it’s made into official policy, could help prevent the latter.
This idea includes adding a clause to Form 9452 that people can use to let the IRS know to block their Social Security numbers so they are not available for use on tax returns. The form would also have a place for people to request to have previously blocked numbers unblocked, a spot for the person’s address and a space for a perjury statement.
In reply to this proposal, the deputy director of the IRS’s Identity Protection Office of Privacy responded, “We have already requested the creation of a new identity theft indicator which would specifically indicate the taxpayer has no filing requirements and has requested their account be locked.”
He further explained that returns filed using locked Social Security numbers would be rejected before they made it through the system. This could save people a lot of time and hassle.
It seems unfair that people who shouldn’t have to worry about filing taxes still have to worry some. And for those who do have to file taxes, it’s super important to keep all that paper work you need in a safe place. Most tax information you get will have your Social Security number on it, since that is how the IRS identifies you. It’s most important to insure that any important tax documents don’t sit in an unlocked mailbox for too long. If necessary, rent a post office box so that your sensitive information doesn’t sit outside ripe for the picking.
As tax time gets closer and closer, now may be a good time to look into identity theft protection. You don’t want to wait until ID theft happens to you to get a policy. You want to get that policy now so that you can prevent future theft. With 10 million Americans getting into this type of hassle every year, you really can’t guarantee that you won’t be the next victim.