Identity theft and fraud have greatly increased since 2019.
Knowing how to prevent identity theft includes understanding the signs of identity theft, so that you can act quickly if you’ve been a victim of this kind of crime.
- The most immediate method to check for fraud is by reviewing your credit history to see if any new accounts were opened in your name that you don’t recognize.
- Check your voicemail. What might have looked like another spam call could have been your bank calling to report suspicious activity on your accounts, and seeking to confirm if it was you.
- Bills for medical services you didn’t receive. If you receive a bill for a medical procedure or service you don’t recognize, it might be someone using your identity fraudulently. ****Contact the healthcare provider listed on the bill the moment you notice this.
- Someone files a tax return in your name. If you get a notice via email or the mail that your tax return was filed before you actually filed your taxes, you’ll want to dig deeper into the cause of that notification.The IRS provides the following list of potential warning signs that someone has used your identity to file a fraudulent tax return. See the full list here
FYI: You should be using an identity theft monitoring tool.
They monitor your identity across the internet and dark web 24/7, and immediately alert you of fraudulent activity. We recommend Identity Guard.
