The Associated Press recently reported that the President’s 2014 budget includes measures to combat Identity Theft particularly ID Theft related to IRS tax refund fraud- the fastest growing type of identity theft. Identity theft has been the #1 consumer complaint for 13 consecutive years. Tax refund fraud made up over 40% of all identity theft…
Despite the nasty weather Friday, the Hudson Valley Federal Credit Union members came out in scores and actually filled our shred truck with over 4 tons of confidential paperwork. The turnout saved over 60 trees and over 10 cubic yards of landfill. We are well on our way to match and possibly beat last year’s…
Every day is Earth Day for HV Shred and every month is Earth Month; still the world makes a point to recognize the fragility of our natural environment during the month of April. Especially in the Hudson Valley, this is the month we wake up from the dark, sleepy winter days and remind ourselves how…
Regular readers of the HV Shred blog know we consider the Identity Theft Resource Center a valuable source of helpful information regarding best practices to avoid identity theft. In the latest installment, we borrow from their recent “myth vs. fact” post. Myth: “No one would want my identity because my credit is terrible.” Fact:…
We have already used this space to share why and how checking reports helps Americans when it comes to identity theft. Of course, the key to education is repetition; for emphasis, we need to check our credit reports to detect unauthorized accounts. Beyond that, inaccuracies can lead to all kinds of problems getting access to…
Emphasizing an earlier post regarding early filing of tax returns is another news story about tax fraud. The Miami Herald recently reported Frankie Jermaine Anderson has been charged in connection with $12 million in identity theft. He is charged with defrauding the government from filing fraudulent tax returns. Upon being arrested, he still had over…
According to a recent press release from the Federal Trade Commission, identity theft complaints continue to rank number one in the FTC’s list of complaints, with a 32% increase over 2011. Of the 369,132 complaints reported in 2012, 46.4% involved issues with government documents or benefits fraud. This represents a drastic spike of nearly 70%…
The new movie “Identity Thief” makes for a good laugh; unfortunately, experiencing Identity Theft is anything but funny. We often use this blog to pass along good hints and tips from the Identity Theft Resource Council. One of our favorites of course is their acronym: SHRED. S: Strengthen passwords online. Don’t use the same password…
Every now and again, we use this space to highlight an upcoming event in our hometown of the Hudson Valley. As co-chair of the Dutchess County Regional Chamber of Commerce’s Living Green Committee I invite one and all to our April 30th Green Symposium to be hosted by Vassar College running from 8am-noon. Our featured…
In good news/bad news, the IRS recently reported it is amping up protections and preventative measures to discourage, detect, and severely punish identity thieves. Taxpayers can encounter identity theft involving their tax returns in several ways including when identity thieves try filing fraudulent refund claims using another person’s identifying information, which has been stolen. Innocent taxpayers…