Emphasizing an earlier post regarding early filing of tax returns is another news story about tax fraud.  The Miami Herald recently reported Frankie Jermaine Anderson has been charged in connection with $12 million in identity theft. He is charged with defrauding the government from filing fraudulent tax returns. Upon being arrested, he still had over $100,000 in un-cashed tax return checks. Anderson had used the proceeds to buy homes and luxury cars.

In a growing crime wave, perpetrators across the country are stealing the identities of various people — including prisoners, the dead, the poor and even children — who don’t file income tax returns in order to avoid having the IRS detect duplicate filings, authorities say. They also swipe people’s IDs to file phony tax returns.

Combined, the schemes have robbed the U.S. government of billions of dollars yearly since the crime began spreading in 2008, according to a Treasury Department report.

Authorities say identity theft is fueling the fraud: Florida has the highest rate in the country, with 178 complaints per 100,000 residents last year, followed by Georgia, with 120 complaints per 100,000 residents, according to the Federal Trade Commission.

But Florida’s rate is dwarfed by that in the Miami area, with 324 complaints per 100,000 residents.

In the past year, the U.S. attorney’s office says it has charged 125 defendants accused of about $138 million in tax-refund fraud.

Filing your taxes early will help mitigate the risk of your social security number being used to file a fraudulent return.  A little extra motivation to overcome the procrastination blues!

For more ideas for identity theft prevention, visit www.hvshred.com

According to a recent press release from the Federal Trade Commission, identity theft complaints continue to rank number one in the FTC’s list of complaints, with a 32% increase over 2011.  Of the 369,132 complaints reported in 2012, 46.4% involved issues with government documents or benefits fraud.  This represents a drastic spike of nearly 70% over the same types of cases last year.

In a state by state comparison, Florida continues to rank first in this type of identity theft, with 72% of the reported complaints involving government tax or benefits fraud.  Georgia (+66%), Mississippi (+58%), Michigan (+54%) and Louisiana (+53%) rounded out the top five states.

The growth in reporting government ID theft, as well as the increase in reporting from several smaller states, could be a reflection of either an increase in this type of crime, or an increase in awareness and reporting of this type of identity theft.  It is likely a combination of the two.  While the IRS doesn’t report complaints directly to the FTC Consumer Sentinel Network, its dedicated effort to build consumer awareness and education about the issue of tax fraud has likely contributed to consumers more often reporting this issue to the FTC, thus capturing this growth.

As with any type of identity theft, consumers need to have a better understanding of what has occurred, in order to further understand who they need to report the issue to – in this case, either law enforcement, a Better Business Bureau, another reporting government agency, or directly to the FTC.

In 2012 the number of complaints reported to the Consumer Sentinel Network grew to 2,061,495 up from 1,895,012 in 2011, for an increase of nearly nine percent.  

Since all shredded material is also recycled, on-site shredding service is a great way to destroy confidential paperwork in the most secure and environmentally friendly manner.  For more information visit www.hvshred.com

Every now and again, we use this space to highlight an upcoming event in our hometown of the Hudson Valley.  As co-chair of the Dutchess County Regional Chamber of Commerce’s Living Green Committee I invite one and all to our April 30th Green Symposium to be hosted by Vassar College running from 8am-noon.  Our featured speakers are recently awarded Business Person of the Year-Mike Arnoff sharing the experience of going solar with partnering vendor Hudson Solar.  We will also get answers for how to be more “green” with purchasing and waste reduction tips from the experts at Vassar College.  Lime Energy and NYSERDA will share the low hanging fruit available for small businesses to make minor adjustments and reap the benefits both environmental and financial.  There is still a lot of state money available to make changes large and small affordable.  This event will help you tap into them.

It’s a great line up and everyone will leave with actionable advice to save money and feel good about the environmental benefit as well.

The event is free and open to the public.

You can register for the event on the Chamber website www.dcrcoc.org

Feel free to contact me with any questions or suggestions for future events. www.hvshred.com

Hope to see you April 30th!

In good news/bad news, the IRS recently reported it is amping up protections and preventative measures to discourage, detect, and severely punish identity thieves.  Taxpayers can encounter identity theft involving their tax returns in several ways including when identity thieves try filing fraudulent refund claims using another person’s identifying information, which has been stolen. Innocent taxpayers are victimized because their refunds are delayed.

To help taxpayers, the IRS has a special section on IRS.gov dedicated to identity theft issues, including YouTube videos, tips for taxpayers and a special guide to assistance. For victims, the information includes how to contact the IRS Identity Protection Specialized Unit. For other taxpayers, there are tips on how taxpayers can protect themselves against identity theft.

Continuing a year-long enforcement push against refund fraud and identity theft, the Internal Revenue Service today announced the results of a massive national sweep in recent weeks targeting identity theft suspects in 32 states and Puerto Rico, which involved 215 cities and surrounding areas.

The January crackdown, a joint effort with the Department of Justice and local U.S. Attorneys offices, unfolded as the IRS opened the 2013 tax season. IRS Criminal Investigation expanded its efforts during January, pushing the total number of identity theft investigations to more than 1,460 since the start of the federal 2012 fiscal year on Oct. 1, 2011.

To stop identity thieves up front, the IRS has made a significant increase for the 2013 tax season in the number and quality of identity theft screening filters that spot fraudulent tax returns before refunds are issued. The IRS has dozens of identity theft screens now in place to protect tax refunds.

If a taxpayer receives a notice from the IRS indicating identity theft, they should follow the instructions in that notice. A taxpayer who believes they are at risk of identity theft due to lost or stolen personal information should contact the IRS immediately so the agency can take action to secure their tax account. The taxpayer should contact the IRS Identity Protection Specialized Unit at 800-908-4490. The taxpayer will be asked to complete the IRS Identity Theft Affidavit and follow the instructions on the back of the form based on their situation.

www.hvshred.com is also a great resource for identity theft protection resources.

Yes, we are in the full swing of tax preparation season! Again with thanks to the Identity Theft Resource Center, we share the following tips to help our community avoid the frustration and expense of dealing with a growing id theft trend.  ID theft fraud occurs when an identity thief somehow obtains your name and Social Security number and uses this information to file a fraudulent tax return in your name. Tax fraud resulting from identity theft can affect individuals or businesses and often the same information can be used to commit tax fraud against both.

There are many ways that identity thieves can steal your information including: phishing emails, snooping through your trash for intact documents, hacking into an entity that has your personal information, stealing or finding your wallet/purse, public WiFi monitoring, changing the designated agent of business entities and the list goes on. Once your personal or business information has been stolen, identity thieves can use this information to file fraudulent tax returns to the IRS and other tax authorities in order to receive credits or refunds. The identity thieves prefer to have the funds distributed by the IRS in the form of a pre-loaded debit card or a direct deposit which helps them avoid having to deal with security measures related to cashing a paper check. After receiving money from the fraudulent filings the identity thieves will disappear, leaving the victim individual or business owner without their refund or with substantial bills owed to the tax authorities.

The most common issue people face is a delay of their anticipated refunds. When an identity thief files your tax returns before you do, the tax return you file yourself comes under suspicion as it is a second return filed for the same taxpayer. The IRS will require that you send them an IRS Identity Theft Affidavit (Form 14039) with proof of your identity in order to confirm that you indeed are the real taxpayer. This process can be lengthy and your refund will not be processed until you are confirmed by the IRS to be the actual taxpayer. Other consequences of this crime can be severe as victims can also be left to deal with any resulting collection actions, audits, and the possibility of fighting aggressive tax collection through the IRS appeals process.

In late 2012, after the IRS reported that it had identified 642,000 tax returns affected by identity theft. The total number and cost of fraudulent returns is hard to determine because the IRS can count the number of identity theft related incidences they discover, but they have no accurate way of determining how many they are missing. What you can do to minimize your risk of identity theft related tax fraud is to simply file your tax return first. This effectively turns the tables on the identity thief as your return will be accepted by the IRS and the criminal’s fraudulent return in your name will be denied. Now it will be incumbent upon the identity thief to provide information proving that they are indeed you, which will most likely end their attempt to defraud you and the IRS. Try to file your return as early as possible and you will be well on your way to avoiding tax fraud this tax season!

For more information on ID Theft Prevention please visit www.hvshred.com You will also find resources at ITRC

When we see valuable information, we like to pass it along to our community.  Recently the ITRC (Identity Theft Resource Center) published information about how web users can be more proactive protecting their privacy when they surf the web. Here are a few  of their top tips for safely using the Google Chrome Web Browser:

In order to set your privacy settings, you must find the privacy settings. When you open your Google browser, find the button at the far top right of the screen, just beyond the URL/address bar; the one that has three horizontal lines. Click that button and a drop down menu will show. Select the 4th option from the bottom that says “settings.”

This will open your settings within the webpage space itself. Find the blue hot link all the way at the bottom that says “show advanced settings.” This will prompt a longer menu to drop down, where you will see some basic privacy preferences like “enable phishing and malware protection” or “offer to save passwords I enter on the web.” These settings are preset by Google and generally speaking the default settings are appropriate for most users.

The most important area to focus on is a button immediately below the “Privacy” headline that says “content settings.” This button takes you to the meat of web browser privacy. In this subsection you’ll find the setting tables for things like internet cookies, pop-ups, location, plug- ins, and handlers. Examine this section carefully and select the settings that most conform to your level of concern.

Some people don’t mind having their web activity tracked by advertisers for the purposes of customized marketing, others do. The Google Chrome browser is highly customizable and easily adaptable in this way. Take a few minutes to examine your privacy settings, and have peace of mind next time you go online.

If you use a different browser, look for similar protections.

For more information on internet safety and identity theft prevention, please visit www.hvshred.com

Finishing off the blog we started last week, we hope your 2013 is off to a good start and have 2 more suggestions for new year’s resolutions to help make 2013 a year with decreased identity theft. 

#3. Give your computer a fresh start: There are all kinds of nasty viruses out there which identity thieves use to commit their crimes. The best line of defense against these crooks is to be sure that you have an up-to-date antivirus installed on your computer. Make sure all of the recommended patches are also updated and that your wireless network has a good strong password.

#4. Especially because its FREE monitor your credit reports. One of the best ways to nip ID theft in the bud is by monitoring your credit reports. You can do this for free at www.annualcreditreport.com . There are three major credit reporting agencies and consumers can receive one free report from each, every year. If you stagger your requests and pull one every four months, you can monitor your credit for free.

Again, here’s to a safe and happy New Year!

For more information on identity theft protection, visit www.hvshred.com

As we say goodbye to 2012 and welcome in 2013, we suggest you include some new year’s resolutions to help make 2013 a year with decreased identity theft.  In a two part series to kick off 2013, we have recommendations for making 2013 a year you steer clear of id theft.

Here are the first two examples of resolutions you can make to make sure your 2013 isn’t marred by a nasty case of identity theft.

1. Just because it’s a good idea anyway—and can be really cathartic, consider clearing out your wallet: Many people carry items in their purse or wallet that leave them vulnerable to identity theft. Take the time to remove your Social Security card, checkbook, passport, extra credit cards, and anything else with personal identifying information. If you want to take this one step further, make an inventory of what is still left in your wallet so that if it is stolen you will easily be able to notify creditors, take protective measures and obtain replacements.

2. More and more of our trusted vendors are forcing us to do it anyway-so take the intiative and change your passwords.  One of the best lines of defense against having an account takeover is a strong password. Take this fresh opportunity to change your old passwords and create stronger ones. Do not use words that can be found in the dictionary. Hackers can run a program that goes through the entire dictionary very quickly and crack any password which can be found in the dictionary. Use numbers, upper and lower case letters, punctuation in your passwords. Don’t forget that the longer the password, the harder it is to crack. Create different passwords on each of your accounts. If you have trouble remembering all of these passwords you can look into using a password manager.

Again, here’s to a safe and happy New Year!

For more information on identity theft protection, visit www.hvshred.com

If you follow this blog, you know we find Consumer Reports to be a valuable resource for reliable information.  While you are budgeting for your holiday gifts, we hope you are relieved to hear you can bypass the ID theft protection products on the market.  According to Consumer Reports, Americans spent $3.5 billion in 2010 to buy products that are claimed to protect their identity. 

Time has shown that do-it-yourself safeguards are just as effective as paid services.  Many of the purported ID Theft products have been fined extensively by the government for deceptive marketing practices–Capital One, Discover Financial Services, Lifelock and others.   Remember, you are eligible for a free credit report from each of the three reporting agencies every year.  If you spread it out, that’s one every 4 months.  You can also sign up for free online banking and mobile apps to monitor your checking and credit accounts daily.

The most important tool you have is vigilance.  Keep an eye on your accounts.

When it’s time to discard personally identifying paperwork, the most secure method is to shred and recycle the paperwork.  That one-two punch ensures your confidential data will not get into the wrong hands.  For more information on shredding and recycling services, visit www.hvshred.com

As we celebrate our 5^th full year of service, this week, we’d like to take a moment to thank our community for making HV Shred a company that has grown despite the poor economy. 

 How can HV Shred have added payroll and purchased 2 new trucks in the last 2 years?  Through the support of a community that is solidly behind “Think Local First” and because document security has become vital to businesses large and small.

Despite getting started in the worst economic times in recent history, we are proud to have been able to increase our payroll every year since our inception in 2008 as well as having now purchased our third mobile shredding truck.

We know worse than paying taxes is paying fines and losing the trust of customers barely skims the surface.  Lots of talk about taxes and the fiscal cliff but businesses need to make sure they are wary of one of their most important assets—their reputations!  Dumpster divers, deficit mired government agencies, and even networks on slow news days are all quick to capitalize on businesses that don’t securely dispose of their confidential paperwork.

Though the economy is supposedly on the rebound, the fact is, many people are still struggling and that too often leads to increases in criminal activity.  Also a fact, criminals tend to go for the easy score—like dumpster diving.  Businesses that haven’t taken steps to securely dispose of their confidential paperwork are not only at risk for huge government fines (Uncle Sam is looking for easy money too!), but also more damaging loss of trust and business from clients/customers/patients. 

Investing in data security is simply a necessity.

If sensitive data falls into the wrong hands, it can lead to fraud, identity theft, or similar harms.  Given the cost of a security breach—losing clients’ trust and perhaps even defending yourself against a lawsuit—safeguarding confidential information is just plain good business.

We are all in this together.  Every businessperson be they a lawyer, doctor, banker, insurance broker, or dog trainer is also someone else’s client or patient or customer.  These key principles are fundamental to protecting our local and global community from the pitfalls of private information getting into the wrong hands.  There is a wealth of information available at www.hvshred.com and www.ftc.gov    

Not to mention, all the shredded paper is recycled—helping support efforts towards more sustainable businesses practices across the board.  Already this year, HV Shred clients have helped recycle over 400 tons of paperwork.