TransUnion

What should dirt lawyers do about the Equifax data breach?

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Protect yourself! Advise your clients!

Everyone should have heard about the Equifax data breach at this point, but have you taken any action to protect yourselves and your clients in the face of it?

Equifax has created a website that allows individuals to determine whether their information has been compromised and allows them to sign up for a free year of credit monitoring. Originally, the fine print on this site indicated taking advantage of the free-year credit monitoring service would result in a waiver of legal rights against the company, but I understand the company folded under extreme pressure and removed this language. In any event, please read the fine print since it is apparently changing as this story unfolds.

This website indicated my information had been stolen as well as my husband’s and several colleagues at work. I recommend that you check here to find out whether you need to take further action.

security unlocked data breach

What action should you take?  I am already a member of a credit monitoring service, so I did not sign up for the free year with Equifax. Regardless, I prefer to keep my legal rights intact. I may need those rights! You may decide to take advantage of the service. You may decide to bite the bullet and sign up for an independent credit monitoring service, and you may decide to remain with that service for more than a year.

What else can be done? I have read many news articles and opinion pieces on this matter and decided to have my credit reports frozen with TransUnion, Experian and Equifax.  You may want to take that action, too, so I have linked those websites for you.

Consider this. If your name, address and social security numbers were compromised, this information is not going to change and the potential financial devastation is not going to resolve itself in the span of one year. Everyone who was compromised will need to be vigilant about checking and credit card accounts indefinitely.

As a real estate lawyer, you may want to advise your clients, as a service to them, about this conundrum and the actions they may be able to take to protect themselves. You may also want to reach out to your real estate agents and lender contacts to ask them to spread the word. Assuming a leadership role in this situation will serve those who rely on you well and will set you apart as a professional who works diligently to protect those who need protection.

Tax-related identity theft is on the rise

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Some safety tips for you and your clients

The dreaded tax day is fast approaching! Please be aware of tax-related identity fraud, which we are being told is on the rise.

tax time

This fraud occurs in several forms. One scheme is to file more than one return using a single Social Security Number. The fraudster steals the SSN and other identifying information, files a return and receives the refund before the true taxpayer has a chance to file. (Or the true taxpayer is a lawyer who always files late.)

Another scheme involves calling the taxpayer to inform him that he owes additional taxes and will have collection actions taken against him. He can get off the hook by providing credit card information to resolve the problem.

A third scheme involves calling the taxpayer to inform her that she received wages or other income from an employer for whom she never worked. Again, she can resolve the problem by paying additional taxes via credit card.

In a similar situation not involving tax-identity fraud, my husband received a voicemail on his cell phone this week indicating a subpoena was about to be served on him either at home or at work and to avoid that subpoena, he could call a telephone number. He is a lawyer, so having a subpoena served wouldn’t be outside of the realm of possibility, but he was able to determine this was a scam based on very limited Internet research.

The IRS advises that anyone who receives a telephone call, letter or e-mail purporting to come from the IRS should call the agency directly at 800.908.4490 to validate the request. In other words, never contact the requester by the method indicated in the communication. Go directly to the source.

The IRS also gives some very common sense advice:  never give personal information without validating the source.

If you are a victim of tax-related identity theft, the IRS recommends the following steps:

  • Notify the IRS at 800.908.4490;
  • If instructed to do so by the IRS after the initial notification, go it its identity verification service website to report the incident.
  • If your return is rejected because of a duplicate filing, complete IRS Form 14039, Identity Theft Affidavit, available at IRS.gov.

The Federal Trade Commission recommends the following steps if you are a victim of identity theft:

  • File a complaint with the FTC at identitytheft.gov;
  • Contact one of the three major credit bureaus to place a “fraud alert” on your credit records:

Be safe out there, use common sense, advise your clients to use common sense, and get those returns filed on time, lawyers!