The information provided on this website does not, and is not intended to, act as legal, financial or credit advice; instead, it is for general informational purposes only. Information on this website may not be current. This website may contain links to other third-party websites. Such links are only for the convenience of the reader, user or browser; we do not recommend or endorse the contents of any third-party sites. Readers of this website should contact their attorney, accountant or credit counselor to obtain advice with respect to their particular situation. No reader, user, or browser of this site should act or not act on the basis of information on this site. Always seek personal legal, financial or credit advice for your relevant jurisdiction. Only your individual attorney or advisor can provide assurances that the information contained herein – and your interpretation of it – is applicable or appropriate to your particular situation. Use of, and access to, this website or any of the links or resources contained within the site do not create an attorney-client or fiduciary relationship between the reader, user, or browser and website owner, authors, contributors, contributing firms, or their respective employers.
Credit.com receives compensation for the financial products and services advertised on this site if our users apply for and sign up for any of them. Compensation is not a factor in the substantive evaluation of any product.
Types of identity theft that target a consumer’s tax returns, as well as their eligibility for government benefits or ability to apply for jobs, are still extremely common, according to a report from Bank Info Security. This is the case despite many state and federal agencies’ efforts to crack down on these types of crimes, both by making them more difficult to commit in the first place, and also reducing the amount of time it takes to deal with identity theft reports.
[Credit Check Tool: Monitor your credit score and activity for free with Credit.com]
“They’re [all] still on our radar,” Eva Velasquez, head of the Identity Theft Resource Center, told the site. ”More than 25 percent of our calls in 2012 were from victims of some type of government ID theft, meaning that their personal information was used either to secure government benefits, to apply for a tax return or even to apply for a job and work or collect unemployment.”
Many consumers may simply not realize how they can be at risk for identity theft, and therefore they might let their guard down when receiving fraudulent emails, phone calls, or even home visits from criminals, the report said.
[Featured Products: Research and compare Identity theft protection plans at Credit.com]
So the first rule of thumb for consumers: Keep in mind that no government agency, or business, would ever get in touch with them and ask for personal or financial data without that person initiating contact first.
Image: iStockphoto
October 19, 2023
Identity Theft and Scams
May 17, 2022
Identity Theft and Scams
May 20, 2021
Identity Theft and Scams