A Reuters' article on Thursday featured information from a U.S. Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration's audit.  The investigators found sensitive documents containing personal identifiable information about U.S. taxpayers in the dumpsters or trash cans at eight IRS offices in four different states.  You can read the full report here along with the IRS' reply.

This news has not yet been added to the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse's Data Breach list, however, it is a good reminder of the need to do as much identity theft prevention for yourself as you possibly can.

Along with these 10 ID Theft Prevention Tips, you should limit the number of times you give out your personal information.  This includes social security number (SSN), date of birth, mother's maiden name, and any financial account numbers.  The video store really doesn't need all of that information; they'd like to have it, but probably don't need it.  The doctor's office already has all of your info on file so you probably don't have to list your social security number every time you sign in. 

When you do give out your information, write it down – don't say it aloud, especially your SSN, and ask how they protect and store your personal information.  Unless you initiate a phone call to a company that asks for personal identifiable info, DO NOT give it out.  Many scams sound official and when they contact you first, it should be a red flag warning to keep your private information to yourself.  The Federal Trade Commission has several resources for consumers who want to protect their identity. 

You may not be able to get all of your information back that has been released over the years, but you can take steps to reduce the number of times it goes out now.  Let's just hope the IRS and other agencies and companies do their part to protect consumer information better.

If you have been the victim of ID Theft and have credit challenges because of it, contact us for information on our credit building services.  We have years of experience with clients who have had fraud on just a few accounts to those with full blow identity theft issues and we're ready to help you, too.