In April of 2012, I scrambled to finish my income taxes on time. Forty-eight hours. That's all the wiggle room I had left before I officially became a late filer ... for the first time in my life. I imagined sitting in a corner of some dark IRS building, duct taped to a chair and waiting for Agent Immagetyou to show up. I couldn't be that filer.
As I rushed to gather all the final documents and pop them into a spreadsheet, an army of tiny knots formed in my stomach. I've always been a good procrastinator, but never where the IRS is concerned. Never. Ever. "The only two things that scare me are God and the IRS," Dr. Dre once said. And I couldn't agree more. So I added, and subtracted, and modified my deductions, until that glorious moment. That splendid split second that unravels tiny knots and is cause for celebration: hitting 'File Return'.
With a whole day and a half to spare, I was free. Even the software said so: Congratulations on filing! We'll see you next year! But the IRS had other plans. Six hours after submitting my return, an email arrived. The subject line read:Federal Return Rejected. My head spun. Maybe I clicked the wrong button. Or forgot to file a form. It had to be something quick and easy. Until I read on:
The Taxpayer Identification Number for the primary taxpayer on this return has already been used on a return filed with the IRS for the current year.
I immediately looked up the code contained in the email and felt the tiny knots return in a tidal wave of anguish. According to Google, my social security number had already been used to file an income tax return. What?! There had to be some mistake.
The next morning, I jumped on the phone and called the IRS. It took five or six transfers and close to an hour before I made any progress. Finally, a very courteous and helpful rep informed me that the error code meant I had already filed for the year and would have to send an amended tax return via regular mail. Wait. Who filed? Red flags went up like the American Revolution.
The next words left me stunned. "It appears your identity has been stolen," the lady at the IRS said in a very calm, yet sympathetic voice. Someone from the great state of Florida, a far stretch from my home state of Maine, had filed using my social security number. And they received a return! In January! Those timely, devious fast filers!
It was a sickening feeling to hear that my numerical makeup, nine numbers that form my social security number, had been exploited. I felt violated. And scared. How did something like this happen?
Of course, I had to close all of my accounts and reopen new ones. Everything had to be updated. I lost time from work, the stress was unfathomable, and I remember crying into my cereal bowl. I wanted to find the person who had done this to me and give them a piece of my mind. Maybe a little more. Thankfully, they were the dumb kind of criminal. They didn't use my personal data to buy lavish presents for all of their friends or book a cruise to Saint Lucia. The only damage had been the filing of a tax return. I was lucky.
The IRS was kind enough to launch an internal investigation. They also provided me with a ton of pointers to prevent this from ever happening again. They brought it to my attention that the service I had been using to electronically file my returns lacked several critical safety features and gave me the names of the safest sites to use. They also they helped me file an expedited return and guided me through the process of setting up an identity protection pin (IP PIN) that I now use for all future filings. No one can file a tax return using my social security number without this PIN. It's something I highly recommend. I was also urged to buy a paper shredder and make sure that important documents were disposed of in a proper, secure manner. Not wadded into a ball and tossed in the trash, like I had been doing for years. Anyone could have obtained my social security number just by rummaging in my garbage can.
After all was said and done, I learned a very valuable lesson. You only have one identity. Protect it. And don't be afraid of the IRS. You'll need them if Suzie Joe from Redwood, Illinois collects a tax return using your social security number. Identity theft DOES happen. I know all too well.