Identity Theft in the News Again
More On Illegal Immigration and Identity Theft
Recently making headlines was a story about how more than 100 illegal aliens were prosecuted for identity theft. They used stolen identities to obtain jobs. Identity theft affects many Americans, but when it involves criminals who are motivated to seek employment, it can cause even more problems than usual for its victims.
An Ugly Situation
This type of identity theft can really create a ton of problems for its victims. When you suffer from identity theft, your credit rating is usually negatively affected. I don’t want to minimize those problems. However, identity theft that was committed in order to help the criminal seek employment creates additional problems because they also usually fail to file income taxes, and their employment history is linked to the person whose social security number they stole. In fact, that is how some individuals find out they’ve been the victims of identity theft- they get a letter from the Internal Revenue Service telling them they owe taxes on unreported income.
You Can Fix It, But It Won't Be Easy
Well, obviously you can plead your case to the IRS if you find out that someone has been working under your social security number. If you’re employed full-time, you will obviously have your employment records to back you up. You can’t be in two locations at one time, so that is one thing working in your favor. Also, if the company that reported wages to the IRS under your social security number is far from your home that can be another fact in your favor. Even so, though, clearing your name after you have been victimized by identity theft is no easy task. Most identity theft victims would much rather get a root canal then spend hours on the phone trying to clear up their credit history and other accounts.
It doesn’t look like there will be any decrease in stories of identity theft making headlines. Identity theft is on the rise, and that is reflected in the news stories that are published on a daily basis.