Ways to Protect Your Identity from Fraud during Tax Season

http://nilecpa.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/tax-fraud.jpgThe IRS has revealed that during the last tax season they sent approximately $50 million to criminals in the form of refunds before they detected the scam. Furthermore, cyber criminals had access to 100,000 household’s tax information, including social security numbers, which they stole from online sources. There is no mistake that identity theft is one of the most rapidly growing crimes in the US.

Therefore, today we are providing you with some simple things that you can do to protect your identity from fraud this upcoming tax season.
Never Mail Tax Information
It is strongly suggested that you never mail any type of tax information, or anything that has a ton of your personal information enclosed in it. When tax season nears, many criminals become very interested in mail. Furthermore, by the time you realize that your package never made it to its destination; they have already ruined your credit history and taken over your identity completely. If you feel the absolute urge to mail your personal information ship it Federal Express. However, it is highly recommended that you take care of as many things in person as possible.
Put a Fraud Alert on Your Credit
The moment you notice shady activity taking place on your credit report, contact all three credit-reporting agencies immediately. While on the phone with them, make sure you put a freeze on your credit to prevent anyone from opening more credit. You also want to notify the IRS so they can be on the lookout for patterns of a scam before it turns into millions lost like the previous tax year.
Huddleston Tax CPAs, a Seattle CPA firm, can advise you. If you do the two things we have discussed today, you will decrease your chances significantly when it comes to fraud happening with your refund check. Call us at (425) 483-6600.