Five signs your identity may have been stolen

 

Of those, more than 43 percent were related to tax or wage fraud. Unlike in a burglary or armed robbery, the victim isn't usually aware of the crime right away. The longer it goes undetected, the harder it is to recover.

Here are the top five signs that your identity has been hijacked:

Unexplained bank withdrawals

Sometimes identity theft takes the form of someone stealing your bank account information. If you fall for an Internet scam and provide your bank account information to what you believe to be a legitimate business, the person with that information can gain access to your bank account and take all the money in it.

Sometimes they make a very small withdrawal at first, just to make sure the account is still active. That's why it's important to look at monthly statements. Even better, if you have online account access, look at your account every day or two.

Missing tax refund

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in recent years has wrestled with the growing problem of identity theft. In these cases, a scammer gets access to someone's Social Security number.

They create a phony W-2 form and then file a federal income tax return showing a large tax refund. They use your name but a different address, so that the refund check comes to them.

When you get around filing your real income tax return, the IRS kicks it back since it has already processed a return linked to your Social Security Number. That's why you should file your return as quickly as possible, before a scammer has a chance to use your identity for a phony return.

Your phone starts ringing

In the most dangerous form of identity theft, the scammer uses your name and social security number to open charge accounts, get credit cards, even buy cars or take out mortgages. They naturally have no intention of paying.

Once the accounts go into default, debt collectors will finally track you down and start calling. You, of course, won't know what they're talking about. It can take years to straighten out. That's why it is very important to safeguard your personal information.

Mysterious health conditions

You might be the picture of good health but suddenly you find medical providers are billing your for a variety of services you've never used. Your health plan might reject your legitimate claim because their records show you've reached your benefits limit.

You might even find that a a new health plan you're applying for won't accept you because they show you with a condition you don't have. All of this could mean that someone has assumed your identity, using your Social Security number, to receive health benefits.

Strange chapters in your credit history

You may be in the process of buying a car or applying for a mortgage and are surprised to learn that your credit history contains a number of accounts, with large balances, that you've never heard of. That can only mean that someone has hacked your identity and has been merrily spending borrowed money in your name.

That's why you should carefully read your credit reports from the three credit reporting agencies every year. Thanks to federal law, you are entitled to a free report from each of the firms by going to www.annualcreditreport.com.

Florida leads

In a state by state comparison, Florida still ranks first in government benefit and tax-related identity theft, with 72% of the reported complaints involving tax or benefits fraud. In terms of overall identity theft, Alaska saw the largest year-over-year increase, with the crime up 30 percent.

“These types of cases very often involve the use of Social Security numbers making them more complex than other types of identity theft, said Eva Casey Velasquez, CEO of the Identity Theft Resource Center (ITRC). “As we are fully into tax season, we anticipate that there will continue to be increases in the reporting of this crime. Government related identity theft has averaged approximately 25% of total cases handled by the ITRC for the last two years and was 25% of our total cases in January 2013 as well.”

As with any type of identity theft, consumers need to have a better understanding of what has occurred, in order to further understand how they should react. At a minimum, if you think you have been victimized you should report the incident to police and the appropriate financial institution, such as your bank or credit card company.