Remember my post on our identity theft problem?
The saga continues. This year, IRS sent me a letter that the fraudsters used my information to file yet another tax return on my name.
Last year, we had a fraudulent joint tax return.
I had to wait again 40 minutes on the phone for the IRS staff to answer my call (the IRS letter demanded that I call to declare that I have not filed my tax return yet...).
So, we filed our joint tax return by paper, with a pin number. It will be a long time before any refund comes.
Meanwhile, we were targeted by a new scam - "Do you hear me?".
Here is its description. If you have not been warned yet, read it.
My husband had read the warning, but when our phone rang, we had just arrived from work and in a hurry to do millions of tasks. So, when the phone rang, and a female voice asked "Do you hear me?", my husband answered with "Yes, I hear you". As soon as he said it, he remembered the warning...
At least we found out the number, from which the call came. Tomorrow, we will talk to Better Business Bureau, report the phone number to FTC, and may be file a police report.
Now we will be carefully looking at all our bills (e.g., utilities, phone, credit card) for this new fraud.
All of these unpleasant things have been accompanied by a complete and utter insanity at work. Every day for the past two weeks has been worse than the previous. More on this some other time.
My entire family is a victim of identity theft.
Our personal information - birth dates, full names, social security numbers, home address, phone numbers, salary information, etc. - is out there, floating on the net for anyone to grab.
First, the hackers obtained our information through our job payroll services. Then with this info, they obtained a copy of our latest tax return (our own IRS conveniently provided this to the hackers). IRS “informed” us about the situation with a “hinting” letter. The letter was worded in such an evasive manner that probably most people would dismiss it and throw it in the garbage. Well, my husband paid attention to it.
After we talked to IRS on the phone a few times, the story unraveled. We found out that the frauds have already filed a tax return on our names. We had to go through hoops and loops to prove who we were ... to IRS. So then, we were able to file our own tax return in paper format.
We also did all the time-consuming steps to protect ourselves further (e.g., filing our status on numerous websites, going to the local police station several times to file reports, creating and then renewing our FTC identity theft accounts on a regular basis, talking to the credit report companies...). However, now, more than a year later, we are still discovering the new ways through which the hackers and their customers rob us from our identity, and are still a threat.
Despite the fact that we have a protection service from Experian (ProtectMyID), we are still a target. Experian protects only our credit. However, within the past 10 months, we discovered (by chance) that the frauds have opened one bank account (on my husband’s name), two prep-paid cards (on my name), and two FSA ID accounts for federal student loans (on my husband’s and my name). Who knows what other horrors are out there, and they are all initiated with our personal information.
The discoveries listed above were accidental. It was only after receiving an innocuous piece of mail from the bank/financial institutions that we became aware of accounts with these institutions. It was also by chance that we decided to be pro-active and in advance create our FSA IDs in anticipation of our child going to college one day.
From the moment the hackers obtained our information, we were charged with the burden of proving our identity non-stop. Not the frauds, we need to prove who we are. Non-stop, every day.
The worst part is that my child’s information is out there and she has to spend her entire life looking for the next blow on her identity, finances, integrity.
Are you a victim of identity theft? How do you cope?
