Learn what tax identity theft is, what you can do to guard against it, and steps you can take to report and recover if it happens to you. What Is Tax Identity Theft? Tax identity theft is when someone uses your Social Security number to steal your tax refund or for work. People often...
Synthetic identity theftis a type of fraud in which a criminal combines real (often stolen) and fake information to create a new identity for fraudulent accounts and purchases. Synthetic identity theft allows criminals to steal money from credit card companies and lenders who extend credit to them...
Financial identity theft is the most common and straightforward type of identity theft, because it happens anytime someone uses a victim’s information to fraudulently obtain money. It’s alsoone of the most damaging types of identity theft, as it represents a direct loss to the victim. The ...
With tax ID theft, the attacker uses your social security number and other necessary information to file taxes and then collect your refund. They may also alter the tax information they enter to inflate the refund they get. If this happens to you, there is a chance you will not know until...
How to prevent identity theft Being aware of identity theft is a first step toward identifying a potential scheme. While it’s sometimes impossible to prevent identity theft, there are actions you can take to help keep your personal information safe. Here are a few ideas: ...
Like financial fraud, criminals will attempt tax identity theft with your stolen information. For example, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the government introduced the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB). This benefit provided $500 a week for affected individuals. The criminals would log into ...
When a thief has stolen your personal information, they can take over or open new accounts, file fake tax returns, or commit other fraudulent crimes in your name.
Child identity theft is often not discovered until years later when the child attempts to use their own information for credit applications or services. Tax identity theft and fraud:This type of identity theft involves stealing personal information like a social security number and using it to then...
Child Identity Theft: Here, an identity thief uses a child’s social security number to carry out different types of fraud. Synthetic Identity Theft: In this case, perpetrators combine real and fake information to create an entirely new identity. Tax-related Identity Theft: This occurs when som...
While shredding physical bank statements and other sensitive documents can help prevent offline identity theft, it’s also important to “shred” sensitive files as well like PDFs of tax returns and bank statements should a hacker gain access to your PC. Typically, when you delete a file, it...