Was your stimulus payment stolen by an ID Thief? If so, you can report the theft to the FTC and the IRS all at the same time.
Here’s how –
IdentityTheft.gov, is the government’s one-stop shop for people to report identity theft. It’s also a great place to get a personal recovery plan. Just click the “Get started” button. If you believe your stimulus payment was stolen select the prompt – “Which statement best describes our situation”. Then, click on “Someone filed a Federal tax return – or claimed an economic stimulus payment – using my information.” It’s as easy as that.
The site will then as you some questions in order to complete an IRS Identity Theft Affidavit (IRS Form 14039) which you can submit electronically. This goes directly to the IRS. You can also include a personal statement about how your identity was misused to claim your economic impact payment. When you’re done, you also can download a copy of the completed Affidavit for your files.
An additional benefit is that the site will give you a recovery plan which contains the steps you can take to help protect yourself from further identity theft.
Only use IdentityTheft.gov to report suspected identity theft. If you have other concerns about your economic impact payment, you can visit the Get My Payment Frequently Asked Questions and the Economic Impact Payment Information Center for detailed, and frequently-updated, answers to questions.
Even if you have already received your payment, you should continue to keep alert for scammers trying to steal your personal information.
It is important to remember, the IRS will never call, text you, email you, or contact you on social media asking for personal or bank account information even if it is related to the stimulus payment.
You should also watch out for emails and texts with attachments or links claiming to have special information about the payments. They are always fake and will contain phishing scams looking for your personal information. They may also contain which would be downloaded to your computer, tablet, or phone.
