WHAT IT’S LIKE TO HAVE YOUR IDENTITY STOLEN

After two weeks in Finland enjoying a muchneeded family vacation, I was home in California checking my mail when I saw a letter from the IRS. I thought, Finally! They’ve sent my refund! Wrong. It was a letter saying my identity theft claim had been received and they had opened a case. The odd thing was, I had never filed a claim.

I was puzzled, so the first thing I did was call the IRS. I found out that someone had filed a return in my name in January, two months before I usually file. He or she had created a direct deposit account with no name specified and had also filed a change of address form so that my mail would be redirected to an old address of mine.

Although the criminal investigation unit of the IRS had flagged that tax return as fraudulent, a $1,400 refund was still sent to the direct deposit account with no name attached to it. I couldn’t believe it. When my real return arrived in March, the IRS realized that identity theft had occurred and began sending me letters informing me of the theft and the delay of my refund. But I never got those letters because they were sent to my old address and then stolen.

I had a real mess to clean up. I had to file a form requesting that the IRS trace my refund to see who had received it. The rep also said that I needed to call the Federal Trade Commission, the Social Security office, my bank, my tax preparer, and one of the credit bureaus to alert them about what had happened. I also got a special PIN to put on my returns going forward, indicating that I’d experienced identity theft.

I finally got my refund money months later. I never found out who stole my identity or whether the crook or crooks were ever caught.

Now I’m extra careful about shredding my mail, checking my credit report regularly, and safeguarding my personal information. For example, at doctors’ offices, I don’t write my Social Security number on any forms. Whenever I mail anything to the IRS, I send it by Certified Mail.

I’ll have to take precautions for the rest of my life. It’s annoying. The worst part is that the thief or thieves got away with my refund. What a waste of taxpayer money!