Tax ID Theft
For the 14th consecutive year, identity theft was the top consumer complaint made to the FTC. Of these complaints, one tpe stood out for me: tax-refund id theft. I’d never heard of this one, but this seems to be a serious problem on the rise. As explained by the FTC:
The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration found another 1.1 million suspected fraudulent returns that the IRS missed in 2011 alone – which resulted in $3.6 billion in apparent fraudulently-issued refunds. They also identified 174,000 Social Security numbers that were used on multiple tax returns in 2011, resulting in $183 million being paid out to identity thieves who filed fake returns before legitimate taxpayers got around to it. The most targeted Americans don’t even seem to know it – people whose income doesn’t appear to necessitate filing returns are most at risk, followed by students ages 16-22.
Ask any expert what the easiest way to avoid being a victim of this crime is, and you’ll get the same answer: File as early as possible. Once you file your return, it doesn’t matter what information an identity thief has on you – he or she can’t file in your name and collect your return.
So if you haven’t gotten your refund yet, you may want to check on that. If you haven’r filed and are expecting a refund, you should get to work.
I wanted everyone to know what a blessing Mr. Lawson has been for me. I had debit collectors reporting negative info to my credit report and God only knows how long they had been doing so. But thanks to Mr. Lawson’s experience and personal knowledge on the debit collectors, he was able to stop the negative reporting to my credit report and he was able to get me a little cash for my pocket. If you have debit collectors harassing you or report incorrect info to your credit report, give Mr. Lawson a call. If it’s companies like LUNV or Midland, he has the knowledge and experience to get you the protection you need from bad debit collection practices.