IRS Doubles Number of Taxpayers Whose Data May Have Been Stolen
Washington — The Internal Revenue Service said Friday that criminals attacking its website may have stolen sensitive personal information from more than twice as many taxpayers as initially expected. In total, cyber criminals may have accessed tax data for more than 700,000 taxpayers by hacking the agency’s “Get Transcript” tool, which allows taxpayers to obtain copies of previous tax returns, the IRS said. Criminals tried to use the...
Protect Yourself From Holiday Identity Theft
The holidays are a great time for buying gifts – and also a prime time for thieves. But having your purse or wallet stolen in a busy mall might be the least of your worries this year when it comes to holiday shopping and identity theft. Here are the best ways to protect yourself from different types of identity theft this holiday season. Stick With Familiar Retailers and B rands: Popular holiday products are often similarly...
Money Talk: Mailed Tax Returns Need Tracking Number
Question: My CPA sent my completed tax return to my home address via first-class mail with no tracking number. The large envelope should have arrived in two days. Over a week has passed and it’s nowhere in sight. I am freaking out as it has all my financial data and is a gateway to fraud of every sort! The various post office officials have really done nothing to assist in its location. I have credit freezes at all three bureaus and...
Theft of Your Medical Records Can Be Life-or-Death Situation
Identity theft to many people is not a big deal because it has become synonymous with the minor hassle of dealing with a stolen credit card number. You get another card, and you’re not out any money. And it happens so often, we’ve become numb to data-breach headlines. But a far more insidious form of ID theft goes beyond dollars and cents and can literally mean life or death. Medical identity theft is when a thief steals your identity...
Money Talk: A Credit ‘Freeze’ Can Protect You From ID Theft
Question: Is there a way to lock my credit history and access to prevent the unscrupulous from opening accounts in my name? Maybe I’m rare, but I have enough existing credit cards, don’t have a mortgage and essentially have no debt, and I want to keep it that way. I suspect businesses that make their living issuing credit reports will resist this ability, but I want to do all I can to make it tough for anyone to steal my identity....
