April 2007
 
ID Theft Protection Newsletter

Welcome to the E-newsletter for Identity Theft protection, providing you with breaking news, alerts and information to protect yourself from the fastest growing crime.

An estimated 50 to 70 percent of reported identity theft cases can be traced to residential trashcans and commercial dumpsters, according to the Federal Trade Commission, the agency charged with tracking such crimes.

The solution -- destroy the documents
-- is deceptively simple.


When is it safe to shred the documents I use during tax season?

 
 Tax time is winding down so you can be certain that there are a number of sensitive documents sitting around.  Don’t put yourself or your family at risk by failing to shred your documents...

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An estimated 10,000 people are illegally preparing tax returns in California.


 
 According to the IRS, identity theft and tax return preparer fraud is a growing problem.  "From 1999 to 2003, it has increased over 1000 percent," says James Martin, IRS Criminal Investigation Unit.
Here are some important questions to ask your tax preparer before giving up your personal information...

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