Claim Your Tax Refund ASAP to Thwart Identity Theft to Thwart Identity Theft

Yearly, $5.8 billion in fraudulent refunds was claimed by crooks using stolen Social Security numbers. IRS has tried to beef up the security and some states even require residents to wait longer to receive their tax refunds. On Kiplinger, Sandra Block has a good advice to prevent fraudulent refunds: “Your best defense is to file your tax return as soon as possible. That won’t stop crooks who have stolen your Social Security number from filing a fraudulent return, but they can’t hijack a refund you’ve already claimed.” (kiplinger.com)