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Ready for tax season? If you’re not ready for tax identity thieves and IRS imposters, you might not be. But breathe easy. Today is the start of Tax Identity Theft Awareness Week, and we’ve got lots of easy ways to learn how to recognize scams and help protect yourself from fraud. Logo for Tax Identity Theft Awareness Week 2020

All this week, the FTC and its partners will host free events to share information about recognizing, avoiding and recovering from the scams and scammers that we see most often during tax season. We’ll ask things like:

  • How does tax identity theft happen?
  • How is it related to other types of identity theft?
  • If your personal information has been exposed in a data breach, are you at greater risk?
  • Can you lessen your chances of experiencing tax identity theft? And, if it happens, how do you recover?

For the basics, join us today for our kick-off event, a half-hour webinar hosted by the FTC and the Identity Theft Resource Center (ITRC). Have questions? Call them in during either of two telephone-town hall meetings this Wednesday the 5th, co-hosted by AARP, the FTC, and the U.S. Treasury Department. Or, send them to us during Thursday, February 6th’s Twitter chat.

If you own or operate a small business, you’ll want to be sure to join us on Tuesday the 4th for Protecting Sensitive Business and Customer Information: Practical Data Security Practices for Your Business. Hear from the FTC and IRS about identity theft, the latest imposter scams targeting businesses, and creating a data security plan to protect your customers, employees, and your business. Ask questions, too. If you’re not able to view the webinar, we hope you’ll still listen in.

Find a calendar of all the week’s events and details on how to participate here. All the events are free and open to everyone. We hope you’ll join us!

Play button for a video titled, "IRS Scams Sound Like This."

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Unwanted Calls, Emails, and Texts
NatureGoddess
February 03, 2020
What do I do if I have been a victim of identity theft? There has been an investigation for months and I keep getting the run around
FTC Staff
February 04, 2020

In reply to by NatureGoddess

Did you report the theft at www.IdentityTheft.gov? When you report, you can create a plan to help you recover from identity theft. The plan will help you keep track of what to do. 

There is help for people who experienced Tax Identity Theft. 

If you need to write letters to remove information from your credit file, or to close an account someone opened in your name, or for other reasons, you can use the Sample Letters from the FTC. 

Bodeen
February 03, 2020
What great timing. Tax Identity Theft Awareness Week and what did I receive in the mail, my Social Security 1099 with my complete SS#. What a great thing to leave laying around in a mailbox.
Mary12020
February 05, 2020
I got this package Priority USPS. Previewing other reviews and blog. I'm sure this is the same scenario. Is there a web site to report this to?
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