If your identity is stolen, your finances can quickly become a nightmare. A less obvious problem is the effect identity theft can have on your taxes.
Identity Theft
Generally, thieves steal your personal data for the purpose of running up credit card charges or opening and abusing new accounts. A developing trend in the identity theft field concerns schemes impacting your taxes.
Selling Social Security Numbers
Identity thieves have created a new line of business - selling your social security number. Who would want to buy it? The list is surprising long, but undocumented workers, individuals with bad credit and people trying to obtain a new identity lead the list. This can create a huge problem for you since any income paid to those individuals is reported to the IRS as being paid to you. This results in the IRS having inflated income numbers and, often, audits when you "under report" your income.
With the creation of the Real ID Act, better known as the National ID Card, things will only get worse. Under the Act, all workers will be required to submit social security numbers to obtain jobs. With our leaky borders, there will be a high demand for your social security number.
False Tax Filings
It doesn't take much to file a tax return. What's to stop an identity thief from filing one under your name to generate a refund? Nothing. To generate the maximum refund, you can be all kinds of frivolous deductions will be claimed. After all, it will be you that has to attend the audit.
What Can I Do?
If you receive a notice from the IRS that leads you to believe someone may have used your Social Security Number fraudulently, you should notify the IRS immediately. Indicators can be found in notices from the IRS that state:
1. More than one tax return for you was filed, or
2. IRS records indicate you received wages from an employer unknown to you.
Don't hesitate or be nervous about contacting the IRS. The agency knows this is a growing problem and not an "opportunity" to pound on taxpayers.
Richard Chapo is CEO of http://www.businesstaxrecovery.com - Obtaining tax refunds for small businesses by finding overlooked tax deductions and credits through a free tax return review.
Hook Me Up With A Human Many organizations have digitized humans - aka carbon-based units - out of existence in their customer service operations. It is time to bring the human back in...
How To Actualize Your Potential Actualize your potential. Stop putting off your dreams and goals for someday maybe. By actualizing your potential, you will experience the joy of life in a re...
Say Something When something really hits me I tend to pay attention to it, like a smack
in the face. It's tough to ignore something that's truly eye-opening. A
great song p...
A Beginners Guide to Writing a Novel No one is born a novel writer. But do you believe that we all have the capability to be writers? Impossible as it may seem but the answer is yes! If we have the...
2 Minute Guide To Pet Insurance Pets are an integral part of our lives. A pet often becomes like a member of the family. When a beloved pet becomes ill, people often go into debt to pay for t...
An Informative Review of RV Insurance Companies There are a number of insurance companies that focus primarily on insuring recreational vehicles (RVs). These companies provide comprehensive policies that th...
The Story “From the Chicken Coop”™ Many years ago my grandfather, had a small farm and
chickens. One morning he sent me out to the chicken coop to
collect fresh eggs. He became concerned when I d...
Turn Your Web Site into a Lead Generation Machine With a few simple steps, you can turn your web site into a lead generation machine. Here's how: Hook - Get your audience interested in what you have to offer. M...
Bodybuilding Weightloss Trouble-Shooter Discover how to make light work of bodybuilding weightloss. These tips and strategies hunt down and mercilessly destroy any remaining fat stores on your body. ...
Forex Trading FOREX Trading / Currency Trading: Foreign exchange market, or better known as FOREX, is the world's largest and most prolific financial exchange market origina...
Debt Settlement : What You Need To Know Debt Settlement companies work with your creditors to help you reduce your unsecured debts though arbitration and negations. The important thing to realize abou...
To Love Or To Be In Love What is the basic difference between loving someone and being in love with the person? Before we can be sure that we have found true love, we need to be sure wh...
Print this page