{"id":18733,"date":"2016-02-04T22:00:23","date_gmt":"2016-02-05T03:00:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2016\/02\/bank-warns-tax-identity-theft-is-on-the-rise-offers-prevention-tips-info-on-reporting-it.html"},"modified":"2023-05-11T07:29:38","modified_gmt":"2023-05-11T11:29:38","slug":"bank-warns-tax-identity-theft-is-on-the-rise-offers-prevention-tips-info-on-reporting-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2016\/02\/bank-warns-tax-identity-theft-is-on-the-rise-offers-prevention-tips-info-on-reporting-it\/","title":{"rendered":"Bank Warns Tax Identity Theft Is On The Rise, Offers Prevention Tips, Info On Reporting It"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>As Americans begin the process of filing tax<br \/>\nreturns, identity thieves are scheming to get their<br \/>\nhands on that money, the Adirondack Trust Co.<br \/>\nwarned during Identity Theft Awareness Week<br \/>\nin January.<\/p>\n<p>Tax identity theft has been the most common<br \/>\nform of identity theft reported to the Federal<br \/>\nTrade Commission for the past five years, bank<br \/>\nofficials said.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Identity thieves look for every opportunity<br \/>\nto steal your information, especially during tax<br \/>\nseason,&#8221; said Charles V. Wait Jr., executive vice<br \/>\npresident. &#8220;Consumers should be on high alert<br \/>\nand take every step they can to protect their<br \/>\npersonal and financial information.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Tax identity fraud takes place when a criminal<br \/>\nfiles a false tax return using a stolen Social<br \/>\nSecurity number in order to fraudulently claim<br \/>\nthe refund. Identity thieves generally file false<br \/>\nclaims early in the year and victims are unaware<br \/>\nuntil they file a return and learn one has already<br \/>\nbeen filed in their name.<\/p>\n<p><!--more--><br \/>\nTo help consumers prevent tax ID fraud, the<br \/>\nAdirondack Trust Co. offered the following tips:<\/p>\n<p>\u2022 File early. File a tax return as soon as possible,<br \/>\ngiving criminals less time to use information to<br \/>\nfile a false return.<\/p>\n<p>\u2022 File on a protected Wi-Fi network. If using<br \/>\nan online service to file your return, be sure it is<br \/>\na password-protected personal network. Avoid<br \/>\nusing public networks like a Wi-Fi hotspot at a<br \/>\ncoffee shop.<\/p>\n<p>\u2022 Use a secure mailbox. If filing by mail, drop<br \/>\nthe tax return at the post office or an official<br \/>\npostal box instead of a mailbox at home. Some<br \/>\ncriminals look for completed tax return forms in<br \/>\nhome mailboxes during tax season.<\/p>\n<p>\u2022 Find a trusted tax preparer trust. Get<br \/>\nrecommendations and research a tax preparer<br \/>\nthoroughly before handing over financial information.<\/p>\n<p>\u2022 Shred what you don&#8217;t need. Once a tax return<br \/>\nis completed, shred the sensitive documents that<br \/>\naren&#8217;t needed and safely file away necessary ones.<\/p>\n<p>\u2022 Beware of phishing scams by email, text or<br \/>\nphone. Scammers may try to solicit sensitive<br \/>\ninformation by impersonating the IRS. Know that<br \/>\nthe IRS will not contact people by email, text or<br \/>\nsocial media. If the IRS needs information, they<br \/>\nwill make contact by mail first.<\/p>\n<p>\u2022 Keep an eye out for missing mail. Fraudsters<br \/>\nlook for W-2s, tax refunds or other mail containing<br \/>\nfinancial information. If W-2s aren&#8217;t received<br \/>\nfrom an employer, and the employer indicates<br \/>\nthey&#8217;ve been mailed, or it looks like it has been<br \/>\npreviously opened upon delivery, contact the IRS<br \/>\nimmediately.<\/p>\n<p>If a person believe they are a victim of tax<br \/>\nidentity theft or if the IRS denies a tax return<br \/>\nbecause one has previously been filed under a<br \/>\nthe filer&#8217;s name, alert the IRS Identity Protection<br \/>\nSpecialized Unit at 1-800-908-4490.<\/p>\n<p>In addition, bank officials said, people should:<\/p>\n<p>\u2022 Respond immediately to any IRS notice<br \/>\nand complete IRS Form 14039, Identity Theft<br \/>\nAffidavit.<\/p>\n<p>\u2022 Close any accounts opened without permission<br \/>\nor tampered with.<\/p>\n<p>\u2022 Contact the three major credit bureaus to<br \/>\nplace a fraud alert on credit records: Equifax,<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.equifax.com\/personal\/\">www.Equifax.com<\/a>, 1-800-525-6285; Experian,<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.experian.com\">www.Experian.com<\/a>, 1-888-397-3742; and TransUnion,<br \/>\nwww.TransUnion.com, 1-800-680-7289.<\/p>\n<p>\u2022 Continue to pay taxes and file a tax return,<br \/>\neven if by paper.<\/p>\n<p>More information about tax identity theft is<br \/>\navailable from the FTC at <a href=\"https:\/\/consumer.ftc.gov\/identity-theft-and-online-security\">ftc.gov\/taxidtheft<\/a> and<br \/>\nthe IRS at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.irs.gov\/identity-theft-fraud-scams\/identity-protection\">irs.gov\/identitytheft<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p> As Americans begin the process of filing tax returns, identity thieves are scheming to get their hands on that money, the Adirondack Trust Co. warned during Identity Theft Awareness Week in January. Tax identity theft has been the most&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18733","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-business-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\r\n<title>Bank Warns Tax Identity Theft Is On The Rise, Offers Prevention Tips, Info On Reporting It - Saratoga Business Journal<\/title>\r\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\r\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2016\/02\/bank-warns-tax-identity-theft-is-on-the-rise-offers-prevention-tips-info-on-reporting-it\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Bank Warns Tax Identity Theft Is On The Rise, Offers Prevention Tips, Info On Reporting It - Saratoga Business Journal\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"As Americans begin the process of filing tax returns, identity thieves are scheming to get their hands on that money, the Adirondack Trust Co. warned during Identity Theft Awareness Week in January. 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