Page 10 - Delaware Medical Journal - June 2016
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PRESIDENT’S PAGE
until months after it has sent the refund based on the fraudulent W-2 to the identity thief.2 The IRS attempts to send out
90 percent of income tax returns within with this system.
So what is a taxpayer to do? First, protect yourself using the usual commonsense things: Protect your social security information everywhere, do not give your SSN out unless absolutely necessary,
check your credit report annually, check your Social Security earnings statement annually, protect your personal computers, and do not give anyone your personal information anywhere unless you initiated the contact or are sure you know who is asking. The IRS will not contact you by email or phone so beware of receiving “IRS” messages via these modes.3
If you are unfortunate to be the victim of ID Theft:
1 Callallthreecreditbureausand initiate a 90-day fraud alert. Many advise calling at least one credit bureau, but I extended alert for seven years. Request
one of them. I used Experian since TurboTax provided a free two-year ID
theft protection plan with their product, “Protect My ID” (protectmyid.com or your personal credit report.
• Equifax: 800-525-6285
• Experian: 888-397-3742
• Trans Union: 800-680-7289
REFERENCES
2 File a police report with the County Police ID Theft Unit. The State Police cannot help with this, although I was need a complaint number from the County police ID Theft Unit prior to being able Commission (FTC).
3 Complete the “Federal Trade Commission Identity Theft Victim’s www.identitytheft.gov/ or call 877-438-4338 to request the form. This report proves to businesses that someone stole your identity and guarantees you certain rights.
4 Contact the IRS (800-908-4490) and complete Form 14039, “Identity Theft speaker phone with a good book or some paperwork as the wait can be as long as paper tax return. We were advised that we and also that it would take 180 days
to investigate the claim.
5 If it is taking an extraordinary amount of time to get a response from your report 302-573-6291. She is his tax ombudsman refund for us 13 months to the day after the IRS received our return. She had it solved in 30 days, the same day we received a letter from the IRS stating it would take another 30 days to resolve.
6 Contact Mr. David Smith of the Division of Revenue at 302-577-8958 or at
david.m.smith@state.de.us to report the ID fraud for Delaware state returns.
7 copy of the fraudulent tax return to help determine how much of your information was used.
8 you have an account for them to place an alert on your accounts.
9 Consider signing up for LifeLock, MSD. Members receive a free 30 day trial plus a 10 percent discount on membership fees. There are three levels of service to choose from. LifeLock monitors many different things depending on the plan you choose but will alert you of data breaches and report regularly if all is safe. If interested, please contact Lynn Robinson, Physician Relations Manager at MSD for information on LifeLock protection and MSD member discounts or visit the MSD website (MedicalSocietyofDelaware.org) Practice Management tab for information link to the LifeLock website.
Good luck if you are a victim, be aware if not. Be patient but persistent. It is a tedious process and I hope I have given you some help.
Dorothy M. Moore, M.D.
President, Medical Society of Delaware
1. GAO, Reports and Testimonies. Identity Theft and Tax Fraud: Enhanced Authentication Could Combat Refund Fraud, but IRS Lacks an Estimate of Costs, Benefits, and Risks. January 20, 2015. Available at: www.gao.gov/products/GAO-15-119.
2. Weisman S. What the IRS isn’t telling you about identity theft. USA Today. January 30, 2016.
Available at: www.usatoday.com/story/money/columnist/2016/01/30/what-irs-isnt-telling-you-identity-theft/79306984/
3. IRS. Taxpayer guide to identity theft. Available at: www.irs.gov/uac/Taxpayer-Guide-to-Identity-Theft
170 Del Med J | June 2016 | Vol. 88 | No. 6
