Printer-friendly versionFTC’s Tax Identity Theft Awareness Week Runs Jan. 29 to Feb. 2
ALEXANDRIA, Va. (Jan. 29, 2018) – Tax season is prime time for criminals to steal personal data, and the National Credit Union Administration is reminding credit unions to take this opportunity to educate their members on how to recognize the signs of tax-related identity theft.
Last year, the IRS identified 14,068 fraudulent tax returns with $918.6 million claimed in fraudulent refunds, according to an audit report from the Treasury Inspector for Tax Administration.
NCUA offers several resources to help educate credit unions and their members on preventing or reporting identity theft.
NCUA’s consumer site, MyCreditUnion.gov provides useful information to help members’ protect themselves and take action if they believe they have been victims of tax identity theft or an IRS imposter scam.
Tax Identity Theft Awareness Week, which runs from Jan. 29 to Feb. 2, is an initiative sponsored by the Federal Trade Commission to educate taxpayers on how to protect their tax data and identities during the tax season. Credit unions are encouraged to share this information with their members.
NCUA has additional information on how to recognize, avoid and report fraud in a two-part Consumer Report series available on NCUA’s official YouTube channel. NCUA also provides general financial education information on the agency’s Facebook page and consumer Twitter feed.