What to do when you suspect or are notified your identity has been compromised

May 14, 2015

  1. File a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission at consumer.ftc.gov or the FTC Identity Theft hotline at 877.438.4338
  2. Contact one or more of the major credit bureaus to place a “fraud alert’ on your account:
    • Equifax equifax.com 800.525.6285
    • Experian experian.com 888.397.3742
    • TransUnion transunion.com 800.680.7289
  3. Close any bank, credit, loan or securities accounts that have been opened fraudulently or tampered with.
  4. Report the identity theft to the IRS
  5. If notified of the breach to you by IRS, call the telephone number on your IRS notice or letter if the IRS is requesting you do so.
  6. If the breach is suspected, contact the Identity Protection Specialized Unit (IPSU) with IRS at 800.908.4490 to report the incident and establish monitoring of your tax account.
  7. Complete IRS Form 14039, Identity Theft Affidavit, and submit with the required documents to substantiate your identity with the Service.
  8. Impacted taxpayers will be annually assigned an Identity Protection Personal Identification Number, or IP PIN, for use is electronically signing their tax return to insure they are the proper taxpayer using that social security number.
  9. A pilot program is underway that permits taxpayers in Florida, Georgia and the District of Columbia to voluntarily request IP TINs. However, at this time our office does not recommend voluntary participation unless your internet activities regularly place your social security number at risk of being compromised.
  10. Contact our office if we can assist with preparing Form 14039 at 850-444-9800, or bholmes@scottholmescpa.com