During tax season, some of us are lucky to receive a tax refund, and thieves would love to get their hands on your money. It should be no surprise then that tax identity theft is a huge problem. 1.6 million taxpayers experienced tax identity theft in 2013. That same year, the IRS paid $5.8 billion in stolen tax refunds.If you discover that your tax refund has been stolen, you should act fast so you can get the refund you’re due as quickly as possible.Check your refund statusIf you didn’t have any … Read more →

Identity theft is a huge problem in this country because there are so many ways a thief can use your information. As a matter of fact, the problem has been so invasive that identity theft has been the number one complaint among consumers for the last 15 years, according to the Annual Summary of Consumer Complaints. The good news is that it didn’t take the top spot in 2015. The bad news is it only stumbled down to number two on the list.Identity theft complaints skyrocketIdentity theft complaints have skyr… Read more →

Even though the majority of people experience identity theft through missing funds, there are actually quite a few ways that identity thieves can use your information. One surprising way some thieves engage in identity theft is through your taxes.It sounds strange, doesn’t it? No one likes to do taxes, so why in the world would an identity thief want to file your taxes! There are a couple of reasons.First, they’re interested in your refund check. Many families have thousands of dollars returned to them … Read more →

Scammers are good, and they’re only getting better at finding our personal information. That means you may be at risk of identity theft and not even know it!One way that scammers take advantage of our personal information is by being sly online, and with today’s ease of shopping on the internet, your most personal information is at risk. That is, unless you follow these tips that will help you stay safe and avoid scams on the internet.Don’t click hyperlinks in emailsThis is perhaps the easiest-to-… Read more →

Nothing beats a professional identity theft protection plan when it comes to keeping tabs on your personal information, but if you don’t have room in your budget for this type of service, there’s no need to worry! There are plenty of things you can do to protect your identity that are absolutely free.Reduce junk mailGoing through your trash is one easy way for identity thieves to get ahold of your information, which is why you should always send junk mail and credit card offers through the shredder. Unf… Read more →