Last year we put out the IRS’s Dirty Dozen list, this year’s list hasn’t been released yet.  However, because one of the Asset Protection Society’s missions is to educate and protect the public against scams in the marketplace, I thought I should take some time this week to pass IRS TAX TIP 2009-11 onto our readers.

It seems, now more than ever, that our clients are becoming increasingly aware of the need for asset protection.  It’s not bad enough that we and our clients are losing assets daily because of the volatility of the market and the uncertainty in the economy, now it is vital that we be aware of and protect ourselves and our clients from nefarious individuals who are seeking to harm us for their benefit, legitimate or otherwise. 

Everyday in the news, online, or in the paper we learn of another scam or another individual who has either attempted to steal from us or has been caught doing so.  Not only do we need to protect our assets from our own accidents and wrongdoing, we need to protect ourselves from other bad actors. Think about the past several months, remember reading about the phishing scams that have bankrupted individuals; how about Bernie Madoff, Arthur Nadel, Marc Schrenker, and Marc S. Dreier.  Even online our email and virus scanners use phishing filters where they attempt to weed out various channels of identity theft designed to steal our personal information.  Tips like the IRS TAX TIP 2009-11 can help protect us all; so here it is:

IRS TAX TIP 2009-11 (reprinted, http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=202865,00.html)
*Remember while reading these tips, the Federal Trade Commission reports that 9 million Americans have their identities stolen each year.

1. If you receive a letter or notice from the IRS which leads you to believe someone may have fraudulently used your Social Security Number, respond immediately to the name and address or phone number printed on the IRS notice.

2. If you receive a letter from the IRS that indicates more than one tax return was filed for you, this may be a sign that your SSN was used fraudulently.

3. Another sign that you may be the target of identity theft is an IRS letter indicating you received wages from an employer unknown to you.

4. The IRS has a department which deals specifically with identity theft issues. The IRS Identity Protection Specialized Unit is available if you have been in contact with the IRS about an identity theft issue and have not achieved a resolution.

5. You can contact the IRS Identity Protection Specialized Unit by calling the Identity Theft Hotline at 800-908-4490 Monday through Friday from 8:00 am to 8:00 pm local time (Alaska and Hawaii follow Pacific Standard Time).

6. The IRS Identity Protection Specialized Unit is also available if you believe your identity may be at risk of being stolen due to a lost or stolen purse or wallet or due to questionable activity on your credit card or your credit report.

7. The IRS never initiates communication with taxpayers about their tax account through emails. If you receive an e-mail or find a Web site you think is pretending to be the IRS, forward the e-mail or Web site URL to the IRS at phishing@irs.gov.

8. The IRS has many more resources available to help inform taxpayers about identity theft on the IRS Web site at IRS.gov. On IRS.gov you can access information on how to report scams and bogus IRS Web sites. You can also visit the IRS Identity Theft Resource Page, which you can find by typing Identity Theft Resource Page in the search box on the IRS.gov home page.

9. The Federal Trade Commission is also available to assist taxpayers with identity theft issues. You can reach them at 877-ID-THEFT (877-438-4338).

10. Visit OnGuardOnline.gov for protection tips from the federal government and the technology industry.