Once again, the annual tax season has ushered in a rash of identity thefts among physicians.
For the third year running, physicians across the nation have filed their tax returns only to be told by the IRS that someone else already filed their return and made off with tax refund money.
In a recent twist, a victim was issued a credit card he had not requested, and the Post Office called to ask if he really wanted his mail forwarded to another address (he did not). This appears to be the work of an organized scam aimed particularly at physicians and dentists.
The U.S. Secret Service, the IRS, and the FBI have been investigating the matter, but the number of victims continues to pile up. More than 200 MSMA physicians have reported being hit.
The January/February edition of Missouri Medicine offered helpful hints on how to protect yourself from and what to do if you have become a victim.
Additional information can be found on MSMA’s website at www.msma.org/tax-identity-theft-scams.
Take these steps as soon as possible
Call the IRS at (800) 908-4490, and report your suspected identity theft.
Call the Social Security Administration at (800) 772-1213, and let them know.
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Place a fraud alert on your credit file by contacting one of the three credit reporting companies. The company you contact is required to contact the other two, which will then place a full alert on your credit report. The three companies are:
Equifax - (800) 525-6285 – http://www.equifax.com/home/en_us
Trans Union - (800) 680-7289 – http://www.transunion.com/
Experian - (888) 397-3742 – http://www.experian.com/
Fill out and submit the IRS Form14039, which can be found at this site: http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f14039.pdf
Please e-mail MSMA Executive Vice President Tom Holloway at tholloway@msma.org and provide your full name, home address, and telephone number. MSMA is working with the U.S. Secret Service and has been asked to provide the names of suspected victims.
Consider visiting these websites for more information and tools to help you
Federal Trade Commission http://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0008-tax-related-identity-theft
Internal Revenue Service http://www.irs.gov/Individuals/Identity-Protection
Social Security Administration http://www.socialsecurity.gov/pubs/EN-05-10064.pdf