If the IRS notifies you that more than one tax return was filed for you, or that you earned wages from an employer you don’t know, your Social Security number may have been stolen. If you’re expecting a refund that doesn’t come, somebody could have stolen your Social Security number and filed for a refund before you. In any of these cases, contact the IRS.
A thief could also use your information to obtain credit, so it’s important to keep a close watch on your credit report, Terry says. And for the extra-paranoid taxpayer, Terry has this advice:
“Put a fraud alert on your report so that any time credit is initiated in your name, you are contacted.”
