If the IRS notifies you that more than one tax return was filed for you, or that you earned wages from an employer you don鈥檛 know, your Social Security number may have been stolen. If you鈥檙e expecting a refund that doesn鈥檛 come, somebody could have stolen your Social Security number and filed for a refund before you. In any of these cases, contact the IRS.
A thief could also use your information to obtain credit, so it鈥檚 important to keep a close watch on your credit report, Terry says. And for the extra-paranoid taxpayer, Terry has this advice:
鈥淧ut a fraud alert on your report so that any time credit is initiated in your name, you are contacted.鈥�
