Tax Identity Theft: Protect Yourself With IRS PIN

Written by Elyse Dillard, Content Specialist at IDShield. Elyse creates educational resources about identity theft and legal protection services. She works to make complex legal concepts more accessible to readers and has contributed to numerous articles on the LegalShield blog.

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Tax season is a part of the year when it is critical for you to pay close attention to your time management and your finances. Why? Because tax season is also when identity thieves are on the hunt, searching for easy victims from whom they can steal data and money. If an ID thief poses as you and files your tax return, they could steal the refund that you are owed!  

What can you do to get ahead of this before it happens to you? We’ve got some tips to help you prepare and protect yourself from identity thieves during this tax season.

Don’t wait! File early.

The first step you can take to avoid tax-related identity theft is to file as soon as you can. The longer you wait to file a completed return, the more time an identity thief has to file a fraudulent return. If the IRS receives a completed tax return, they may not catch that it is fraud.  

While the IRS does have filters that are supposed to weed out suspected fraud, clever thieves can still slip through the cracks. Then when you send in your own tax return, you could run into issues since the IRS has already received a return with your information on it!

Apply for an Identity Protection Personal Identification Number.

The IRS provides ways for you to help secure your tax return filings with an Identity Protection Personal Identification Number (IP PIN). This six-digit number helps the IRS verify your identity when you file a tax return, whether electronically or on paper. Only you and the IRS know this number, making it a relatively secure method of confirming that you are who you say you are—and that a thief is not!

Here’s how you can apply for your own IP PIN, according to the IRS government website:

1. Register on IRS.gov to create an online account. Then you can quickly request your IP PIN through the account.
2. Your IP PIN will generally be available in your online account starting in mid-January through mid-November, so you can access it when tax season rolls around.
3. Once you have requested your IP PIN online, you can retrieve your number online each calendar year to ensure that your secure PIN is up to date.
4. Your spouse and dependents are also eligible for their own IP PINs if they pass the identity verification process (anyone with a Social Security number (SSN) or an individual taxpayer identification number (ITIN) can get an IP PIN including individuals living abroad. Register online.)

Plan ahead.

Unexpected events like natural disasters can delay tax due dates. With people all over the country facing wildfires, flooding, tornadoes, and more, it’s helpful to check the IRS website for details about tax relief if you have been affected by recent disaster situations. You may qualify for an extended filing deadline.

You never know when you may lose the physical copies of your important papers that you need to file your taxes. Make extra copies and upload your essential documents to a secure online storage so that you can still access them. Just make sure that your storage space is secure! Store your physical documents in a safe place and use strong passwords and two-factor authentication for your online login credentials.

Sign up for an IDShield Membership.

In a sense, your Social Security number is you: It’s how the government verifies your identity when you file taxes; when you use it to vote or buy property or get a job; and when you die, so does your Social Security number. Unfortunately, this all means that thieves want to get ahold of your SSN so they can pose as you and get benefits in your name, including your tax refund!

Resolving identity theft is stressful, time-consuming and expensive. Many people are turning to identity monitoring to better safeguard their most personal information. IDShield provides the monitoring and restoration services that you need to help keep your identity protected.

IDShield works by scanning and monitoring your personal identifying information (PII) and sending you an alert when there is any unusual activity detected. To help protect your Social Security number and other PII, IDShield monitors:

• Social Security number
• Change of address
• Court records
• Payday loans
• Social media and online reputation
• Dark web

Don’t let tax identity theft get the jump on you. IDShield is here to help you keep your information safe.

Take the next step!

• See how IDShield works to protect your identity, SSN, online reputation, and more.
• Follow these other helpful tips to help protect yourself from identity theft this tax season.

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Pre-Paid Legal Services, Inc. (“PPLSI”) provides access to legal and identity theft services through membership-based participation. IDShield is a product of PPLSI. All Licensed Private Investigators are licensed in the state of Oklahoma. The information available in this blog is meant to provide general information and is not intended to provide professional advice, render an option, or provide any specific recommendations. The blog post is not a substitute for competent and professional advice. Information contained in the blog may be provided by authors who could be third-party paid contributors. All information by authors is accepted in good faith; however, PPLSI makes no representation or warranty of any kind, express or implied, regarding the accuracy, adequacy, validity, reliability, availability, or completeness of such information.

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