Ten Things the IRS Wants You to Know About Identity Theft 

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 HYPERLINK "mailto:phishing@irs.gov" \o "mailto:phishing@irs.gov"phishing@irs.gov.

8. The IRS has many more resources available to help inform taxpayers about identity theft on the HYPERLINK "http://www.irs.gov/"IRS Website. On the HYPERLINK "http://www.irs.gov/" IRS Website you can access information on how to report scams and bogus IRS Web sites. You can also visit the HYPERLINK "http://www.irs.gov/privacy/article/0,,id=186436,00.html" IRS Identity Theft Resource Page for more information.

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 for protection tips from the federal government and the technology industry.

IRS CIRCULAR 230 REQUIRED NOTICE
IRS Regulations require that we inform you that any U.S. federal tax advice contained in this communication (including any attachments) is not intended to be used and cannot be used, for the purpose of avoiding penalties under the Internal Revenue Code or for the purpose of promoting, marketing or recommending to another party any transaction or tax-related matter.