One of the Tax Division’s highest priorities is prosecuting people who use stolen identities to steal money from the United States Treasury by filing fake tax returns that claim tax refunds. Working to stop Stolen Identity Refund Fraud, or SIRF, is vital because these schemes threaten to disrupt the orderly administration of the income tax system for hundreds of thousands of law abiding taxpayers and to cost the United States Treasury billions of dollars.

SIRF crimes are complicated to prosecute because they are often perpetrated by large criminal enterprises with individuals at all stages of the scheme: those who steal the Social Security Numbers (SSN) and personal identifying information, those who file false returns with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), those who facilitate obtaining the refunds, and the masterminds who promote the schemes. These criminal enterprises are able to exploit the speed and relative anonymity of highly automated systems for storing personal information, preparing and filing tax returns electronically, and generating income tax refunds quickly—often in the form of electronic payments.

Identities used in SIRF crimes may be stolen from anywhere. SIRF criminals have used social security numbers stolen from institutions such as hospitals, nursing homes, and public death lists, thereby exploiting some of the most vulnerable members of our communities—the elderly, the infirm, grieving families. However, everyone with a social security number is potentially vulnerable to having their identity stolen. According to the IRS, from 2008 through May of 2012, the Service has identified more than 550,000 taxpayers who have had their identities stolen for the purpose of claiming false refunds in their names.

Click here to read the entire article: http://www.justice.gov/tax/Stolen_Identity_Refund_Fraud.htm

The Tax Division has had considerable success in SIRF prosecutions, which have generated long sentences for those convicted of SIRF crimes. This page contains links to articles, websites, and press releases with information on how the Justice Department and IRS are dealing with SIRF crimes, guidance for citizens whose identities have been stolen and used to file false tax returns, and efforts of the Justice Department to prosecute these crimes – Kathryn Keneally, Assistant Attorney General for the Tax Division   Press Release Announcing SIRF Enforcement Initiative

Connect with Linda at 310-831-4400 or at info@theidentityadvocate.com to mobilize your efforts of protection and recovery when it happens to you!

It’s traumatic when you or a loved one is admitted to a hospital. There’s so much to worry about. However, the protection of your private health care information should not be one of them. Although there has been a rash of celebrity information being compromised during recent admissions to a hospital, you don’t have to have a star status to ensure your health care information is safe.

To make sure your private health information stays that way, here are 3 questions to ask during the admission process:

1. Does your organization do background checks on all employees?

2. Who has access to my information?

3. Where will my records be stored and will they be encrypted?

If the person admitting you  (or the pre – admission process) can’t answer the above questions, ask to speak to a supervisor who has the answers. If he or she doesn’t know, then ask to speak to the Director of Nursing, or Chief Nursing Officer.

While you may feel this over cautious, we are hearing of  Identity Theft Rings run from a hospital by an admissions clerk as in this case in Alabama: Leader of Identity Theft Ring Sentenced to prison.

Obviously an admission in an emergency you can’t do this process.  This may be a reason to consider having Identity Protection and Recovery. If you want to know more  about being proactive instead of reactive connect with me here:    http://www.theidentityadvocate.com/identity-theft-protection.php.

Keep your piece of mind.

Have you thought medical identity theft wouldn’t happen to you? Is your thought “why would anyone want my medical information?” Well, they don’t want your “medical history” —  they want your insurance information. They might be out of work, or have a friend who needs assistance, or belong to an identity theft ring, and is in it for the money they can earn by selling your medical identity! Today it is more valuable then just your social security number.

When your medical information is stolen and used by someone to seek treatment, your own medical history will change. You may receive bills from doctors you have never seen or even heard of. You may discover they have a different blood type, or have cancer. Then to remove the mis-information and change your information back to who ‘you really are’ becomes an arduous task in itself. Also, you might find yourself responsible for bills that are not yours, and this affects your credit rating when it goes to collections!

Be proactive, protect your medical identity  by asking  your physician the following questions:

Does s/he do a complete background check on his employees?

Does s/he encrypt the records in his office?

If you should change physicians, what happens to those records? Does s/he outsource billing and receivables and if so, are they cleared as well. You want to know who is in his office and if there are prying eyes or someone who can walk off with all your information on a device such as a laptop or flash drive with all your electronic health information?

Read this article from Fox Business News and see why your medical information and insurance are a valued resource in the the black market; and why it is so difficult to keep your information PRIVATE:  http://www.foxbusiness.com/on-air/willis-report/blog/2013/05/21/protect-yourself-against-medical-identity-theft..

And then call me or email me for solutions available to  protect and recover your identity in the event that your identity is compromised or stolen

www.theidentityadvocate.com

310-831-4400

The FBI has seen an increase in cyber criminals who use online photo-sharing programs to perpetrate scams and harm victims’ computers. These criminals advertise vehicles online but will not provide pictures in the advertisement. They will send photos on request. Sometimes the photo is a single file sent as an e-mail attachment, and sometimes the victim receives a link to an online photo gallery.

The photos can and often contain malicious software that infects the victim’s computer, directing the user to fake websites that look nearly identical to the real sites where the original advertisement was seen. The cyber criminals run all aspects of these fake websites, including “tech support” or “live chat support” and any “recommended” escrow services. After the victim agrees to purchase the item and makes the payment, the criminals stop responding to correspondence. The victims never receive any merchandise.

The FBI urges consumers to protect themselves when shopping online. Here are a few tips for staying safe:

• Be cautious if you lose an auction on an auction site but the seller contacts you later saying the original bidder fell through.
• Make sure websites are secure and authenticated before you purchase an item online. Use only well-known escrow services.
• Research to determine if a car dealership is real and how long it has been in business.
• Be wary if the price for the item you’d like to buy is severely undervalued; if it is, the item is likely fraudulent.
• Scan files before downloading them to your computer.
• Keep your computer software, including the operating system, updated with the latest patches.
• Ensure your anti-virus software and firewalls are current—they can help prevent malware infections.

If you have fallen victim to this type of scam, file a complaint with the Internet Crime Complaint Center at www.ic3.gov.

If you need education and resources to protect your identity click on http://www.theidentityadvocate.com/identity-advocate-services.php

Stockton Man Sentenced to Almost Five Years in Prison for Identity Theft
U.S. Attorney’s Office May 31, 2012

Eastern District of California (916) 554-2700

SACRAMENTO, CA—Michael Garcia, 39, of Stockton, was sentenced today by United States District Judge Morrison C. England Jr. to 57 months in prison for fraud in connection with computers and in connection with an access device, United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced.

According to court documents, Garcia was employed as a technician by a contractor that provided information technology (IT) assistance to third parties. While employed there, Garcia accessed the computer servers of a law firm and an accountant firm without their knowledge or authorization and downloaded the personal information of more than 1,450 clients and employees. Garcia maintained this information on his computer and elsewhere.

According to court documents, Garcia and others used this personal and financial information to make counterfeited identification documents including driver’s licenses and military identification. They used the information to open bank accounts, draft bank checks, make cash withdrawals, obtain loans and lines of credit, and make unauthorized purchases. Additionally, Garcia accompanied others who wore stolen U.S. Customs and Border Protection uniforms to carry out certain fraudulent transactions, such as cashing checks, in the belief that the uniforms gave them more credibility. When arrested, Garcia possessed counterfeit California driver’s licenses, one of which bore his photo but with the name of a victim. The loss is more than $136,000.

Today in court, an employee of the accounting firm where Garcia unlawfully accessed the personal financial information told of the severe hardship suffered by the firm because of Garcia’s actions, as well as the personal toll she experienced because of Garcia’s breach of trust. Judge England commented that identity theft cases, particularly those where there has been an abuse of trust, negatively affect many lives.

This case was the product of an extensive investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Department. Assistant United States Attorneys Todd Pickles and Robin Taylor prosecuted the case.

Did you realize you can pull your official employment history for free and check the accuracy and for signs of employment identity theft.

Have you thought about the fact, when you apply for a new job that an employer will do a background check? What if someone has taken your identity, found a new job and now erroneous information has been posted? Don’t forget, that employer may also check you out on Facebook, LinkedIn or your blogs.

The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FACT Act) is the law that lets you obtain a free credit report from the three credit-reporting agencies every 12 months. You may not know that the FACT Act also lets prospective or current employers gather information about you for background checks. This is a a great tool to know what they’re seeing about you – and to check for signs of possible identity theft.

Some credit reporting agencies and investigation companies compile what is known as “investigative consumer reports”, which are used in limited circumstances such as background checks for employment, insurance policies, and rental housing. These reports do not contain information about your credit record that is obtained directly from a creditor or from you. (For example, it won’t have information about a late payment).

Federal law requires your current or prospective employer to get permission from you to conduct the report. The good news is that if the information in the report is used by the employer to make a negative hiring decision, the employer must give the applicant a copy of the report.

We suggest that you be proactive and get a copy of this report once every 12 months, for free, just like your credit report. You can check it to see if someone else with your name has a work history that may be confused with yours, or may be a result of identity theft. You also have the right to correct and dispute inaccurate information in an investigative report, just as with your credit report.

To order your report, check out the LexisNexis Employment History Report. There’s no guarantee that LexisNexis has a file on you however; as it says on its website, “our files would only contain information on you if LexisNexis provided your Employment History Report to an employer.”

Ordering is easy. Call 866-312-8075, Sunday through Friday, to start the automated process. You must give your Social Security number, current street number, zip code and date of birth for the report to be started. Have a pen and paper ready to write down the report tracking number, in case you need to call and follow up. If you’re not comfortable giving information over the phone, you can instead download and send in a report request.

Information courtesy of Debix Newsletters

Data breaches seem to hit the news every day. If it happens to you be aware that more email “phishing” scams can occur. Your data has been compromised, so never let your guard down!
Here is what the BBB suggests:

* Do not reply to the e-mail or click any links in them.
* NEVER give out personal and/or financial information via e-mail. They may claim to be a representative of your bank, IRS, or police, but these organizations will contact you in a letter.
* Let others know about these scams
* When sending personal information, the transmission should be encrypted. Make sure the the website is secure. One way of doing this is to look for an ‘s’ in the http part of the url. The S stands for secure.
* Grammatical errors and misspelled in these e-mails can be a tip off that it is a scam.
* Never wire money based on any instructions in these e-mails.
* Obtain anti-virus software and run it at regular intervals
* Contact the Federal Trade Commission at their website http://www.FTC.gov or by phone at 1-877-HELP.
Therefore, stay vigilant and mindful that there is always someone ready to take your personal information!