Okay this is the 2ND time I have had to go through this in 3 years!! Someone(unknown person)used my son's SS number to file their taxes with. Has this happened to anyone else? Last time this happened I had to verify I could claim my son and they gave me the refund afterwards. It tooks months to clear up. But nothing else happened to the other person! And yes I know nothing happened b/c I know who used his number without being able to legally. The two people who have his SS number claim they haven't filed yet. Now this is the second time this has happened and I need to know how to fix it. I have called the Social Security office and they can't change his number without a police report. I called the IRS and they can't tell me who used his SS number. Therefore I can't file a poilce report because I don't have a person to file against! I am at a loss. How dare someone else claim MY CHILD! And what if they are using his credit. How do I check that as well? If anyone has gone through this and figured out how to fix it to where it stopped happening please please help me!!
Good and bad news! I know who claimed him now. (that was the good news) It was the same person who did it last time and once again they have No Legal Rights to claim MY CHILD! The IRS said they will red flag the account and if it gets "picked up" they will audit the the person this time. Other than that I can do nothing. The IRS will still process my taxes but it will be red flagged due to the violation. They said they cannot keep people from claiming "others" but they try to catch them if they are able to do so.
Im so sorry to hear this. Get a copy of his credit report. That should tell you if tehy are using his credit. I'd be ticked off too! Good Luck
This is going to sound stupid, but CALL THE FBI. Assuming someone else's identity is a Federal Offense.
AND, get www.lifelock.com For 22.5/month no one can open an account in my name, my dh's name or my son's name. Check it out.
E.
For a very, very reasonable rate you can get ID theft insurance through Zander. http://www.zanderins.com/idtheft/idtheft.aspx
Dave Ramsey endorses them, and the nice thing is Zander will go in and fix any problems caused by the theft and help w/ any repairs, etc. We'll be getting a family policy this year!
D.
Hi there,
First call all three credit companies and put a 90 day fraud alert on his credit/ss #. You can find their phone numbers online equifax, transunion, and experian. You can continue to do this every 90 days when it expires. Then go to the police department and file an official complaint, keep the copy (or make a copy) and then write formal dated letters to the three credit companies as well as the IRS and SS office. Keep all of these things for you records. Getting fraud insurance is a great idea like others mentioned, but not always in our budgets! These actions can help the three credit companies to put a 7 year fraud alert on your sons ss# and credit as well as help convince the SS office to issue a new ss# for your son. Also, supply supporting documentation of when this happened before. You have rights and this identity theft is out of hand with all of the forclosures and defaults that have occured due to the nations lenders handing out money to people who could never pay it back. Best of luck to you, and if you learn anything further, please let us all know. We are ALL at risk for this and any advice on how to be wise to protect our families is much appreciated.
Take care,
S.
I feel for you. I am a single mom and fear that my ex will do the same thing.
I have a close friend who this has happened to, not with her children but with her and her husband. They immediately changed their SS#'s. I am not sure why they didn't do this for you the first time it happened. I would go about trying to find out how to change his #.
Not sure if this is any help but good luck!!
S.
Hi,
if they file taxes, you do have the person. contact the police and give them the taxes information. Are call the
Consumer credit reports, but you must file a police report or they will think you know who did it. The reason they can do it over and over again is because you did not file a police report. To use someone SS# is the same as stolen Identity. When you file you taxes bring proof of your child's SS# card and birth certificate and prove that is your child and you did not give anyone permission to use it on their taxes. So you can put a stop to it. If they don't want to provide you with that info, just report it to the Social Security Office, the police and Consumer Credit Reporter. But if I was you I would call the IRS today and file a report with them. Now get to Work honey.
Peace
Since this has happened twice, I wonder if you'd be able to get fraud protection insurance? I don't know much about it but you could check. Also, you can file a report about the incident without knowing anyone's name. It's basically an incident report with the police. That may work. I had to do this when a young kid stole outgoing mail from my box with a check inside. A person parked outside my neighbor's home witnessed it and I didn't even have his name. A report was done even though I didn't have the name of the child.
I don't know how old your child is, but it is critical to not give out your child's security number if at all possible. Here is one example where you might think it is safe, but it is not: http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/texassou...
Basically,Texas school districts are handing over Social Security numbers, dates of
birth and other sensitive information about the state's kindergarten students to a private software company without permission from the children's parents. "A privacy expert says thousands of 5- and 6-year-olds are vulnerable to identity theft as a result."
I do not give out my children's social to doctors or schools (until they reach college).
M.
To keep a check on his credit report, go to www.annualcreditreport.com You are allowed 3 free credit reports per year (this is the only website to truly get FREE reports that don't sign you up for other services). Since there are 3 credit reporting bureaus, request a report from one of them every 4 months. You should also call them and put a fraud alert on his SS#.
Equifax 800-525-6285
Experian 888-397-3742
TransUnion 800-680-7289
The state of TX has also just passed legislation that allows you to put a "freeze" on your credit...meaning that for a small fee (12-13$), no one can apply for credit in your name or SS without written permission from you. Might be a good idea to do this for your son.
The FTC also has created an identity theft info packet that you can request: www.consumer.gov/idtheft or 877-438-4338
Most important: get a spiral notebook and keep notes/dates/names on every phone call/action that you do. That way you have a record of what you have done and who you have spoken to.
Good luck!
