"Taxpayers, Beware: Identity Theft Threat at the IRS"

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"Taxpayers, Beware: Identity Theft Threat at the I... - 4/16/2007 3:21:11 AM

Vendaval

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"Taxpayers, Beware: Identity Theft Threat at the IRS"

April 12, 2007, 12:16 PM

Anna Schecter Reports

"The Internal Revenue Service is putting taxpayers at risk for identity theft by failing to protect taxpayers' social security numbers and bank account information, warns a recent report issued by the Government Accountability Office.

"The taxpayer's information is at risk for unauthorized disclosure to unauthorized individuals who could then potentially use it for identity theft," said Greg Wilshusen, Director of Information Security Issues at GAO.

Wilshusen says thousands of IRS employees who are not authorized to view taxpayer files can freely peruse them, leaving the door open for identity theft or other financial crimes."

http://blogs.abcnews.com/theblotter/2007/04/taxpayers_bewar.html

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RE: "Taxpayers, Beware: Identity Theft Threat at t... - 4/16/2007 1:53:57 PM

Termyn8or

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HA, nobody bit eh ? People think it's a friggin joke, wait until it happens to them.

Friend of mine had his identity stolen, BY HIS OWN FATHER. Same name, just used "the other" SSN to get a credit card. I swear that family was more sociopathic than mine ! Here's the cool thing, he wrecked his own credit, now he can claim a bunch of that was not him. His Father is dead, so go get it from him.

Tell you this much, I have my reasons for a long time. I have cetain rules for finances.

1. I do not allow any automatic transfer in checking. I pay for internet with a credit card and the phone bill.

2. I have no holographic logo on my ATM card, the PIN is required to get money, no matter what.

3. I will not write a personal check to a government agency, a lawyer, or hospital.

4. Filing taxes is done the old fashioned way, back then anyway. As far as they're concerned I don't have the money for one of those newfangled tely-phones or com-puters.

5. If I want to check my credit, I want it mailed to me in a sealed envelope.

6. I will not tell anyone except friends and family exactly where I work.

I mean all of that. I mean stopped by the cops back in 04, "Where do you work ?", I said "I don't give that out". I said it as politely as possible, but that is my position.

I also found out that if you get your W2s in a timely fashion and file right away you get your refund fast enough that you don't need a loan.

Now of course the IRS gets your bank account number when you cash the check, but at least you bank account and routing numbers are not sitting out in plain sight on someone's desk.

When anything is purported to be simple, easy and/or free it is an anethma to me. When I hear that something is a pain in the ass, costs and is very complicated, I get to thinking, then why are people doing it ? Are they all wrong ?

A tertiary example, get your cable, internet, and phone all on one bill. OK, but it also comes through one cable. If something happens to that, you can't even call to tell them it's not working. Didn't I hear something in my younger days about putting all of one's eggs in the same basket ?

In other words, just an SSN makes for a hard time for an identity thief, but having the name, address, SSN, routing numbers and all of that, along with where they work and how much they make, it is just too easy.

Also, there are many other avenues than the IRS. With call takers in India, which has different privacy laws than us, many things can happen. Personal, even medical information gets sold. In fact if you have medical insurance at all your records are not private anymore.

From the book 'The Occult' : Knowledge is power, knowledge shared is power lost.

Seems to apply don't ya think ?

T

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RE: "Taxpayers, Beware: Identity Theft Threat at t... - 4/16/2007 3:51:42 PM

proudsub

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My daughter won a jackpot in vegas last week and the casino emplyee took off with both her social security card and her drivers license for about 15 minutes while she had to wait at the machine. I find that very worrysome.

I worry a great deal about idnetity theft. It's why i don't do anything online that involves entering my social security number, driver's license number or bank account number.

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RE: "Taxpayers, Beware: Identity Theft Threat at t... - 4/16/2007 5:58:30 PM

Vendaval

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quote:

ORIGINAL: proudsub

My daughter won a jackpot in vegas last week and the casino emplyee took off with both her social security card and her drivers license for about 15 minutes while she had to wait at the machine. I find that very worrysome.

Are they required to do that? Or is that a casino policy?
I would have talked to management for sure.

I worry a great deal about idnetity theft. It's why i don't do anything online that involves entering my social security number, driver's license number or bank account number.

That is a very good policy, proudsub. I follow the same procuders
myself. One of the professors at my university had all of the
class records with the students Social Security Numbers for the
past several years stolen from his computer. The university does
allow you to use a randomly generated number rather than your
Social Security Number, but used to plaster your SS# on all of
your records, including the bags holding your prescriptions at
the pharmacy in the Health Center.

Now a true story from my own family. One of my uncles has been
deceased since the late 70's. Someone obtained his records and
started charging items to new credit cards in his name. My aunt
grew tired of trying to explain that he had been dead for over 20
years and eventually turned the phone off. (Seems like modern
day grave-robbing to me.)

_____________________________

"Beware, the woods at night, beware the lunar light.
So in this gray haze we'll be meating again, and on that
great day, I will tease you all the same."
"WOLF MOON", OCTOBER RUST, TYPE O NEGATIVE

http://KinkMeet.co.uk

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RE: "Taxpayers, Beware: Identity Theft Threat at t... - 4/16/2007 8:47:12 PM

proudsub

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quote:

One of the professors at my university had all of the
class records with the students Social Security Numbers for the
past several years stolen from his computer

I was very upset when my daughter's university used ss numbers for id, they have changed since then. Also Blue Cross used to use them but changed it last year.

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proudsub

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"You are entitled to your own opinions but not your own facts"--Alan Greenspan

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