Town Reports 3 Cases Of Taxpayer Identity Theft In Past Week
NORWOOD (CBS) -- Three residents of one Massachusetts town went to file their taxes recently, only to discover that someone had already done so using their personal information.
Norwood police say they received those reports all in the past week. They took to social media on Tuesday to warn people of the identity fraud.
"Generally, you will not know you are a victim until you try to file your own taxes and get the bad news," police said. "The IRS will often send a letter stating that more than one tax return was filed using your SSN."
In all three cases, the victims were lucky to catch on before their tax returns could be sent to the perpetrators, according to police.
Norwood police offered the following tips to people who think they might be a victim of identity fraud:
-Complete IRS Form 14039 (Identity Theft Affidavit)
-File a report with local police
-File a complaint with the FTC
-Contact one of three major credit bureaus to place a "fraud alert" on your credit records