[Heybuck]

Just saw the posting by fyrffytr1 about his tax problem. Don't want to hijack the thread so I'll start this.

3½ years ago I was in Orlando airport and my second credit card was scammed. Most likely scanned by someone with a remote card reader since it was in my pocket and I had not used it at all since leaving Australia.

Wasn't a real big deal, got my money back OK but it was still a big headache.

HOWEVER, a friend of ours was travelling in Europe and someone scanned his passport. They set up all sorts of accounts, some in Germany but mostly in France. They opened credit cards, hotels were chasing him, banks were chasing him. It was a nightmare for him and his wife and I don't think they have even now heard the last of it and all this took place over 2 years ago. I know he applied for a visa to visit Vietnam mid last year and he could not get it due to "irregularities" against his name. Took him a LOT of trouble to sort out.

As was pointed out to us, credit card theft is an everyday occurence but once they get your passport and your identity, it follows you continually.

Nowadays, we carry our credit cards, anything with a card chip in it including our passports, in a foil envelope to prevent any scanners grabbing our info.

Beware.

[TAKerry]

My brother and sister n law were living in Europe, she was a high ranking officer in the Army. She worked at NATO hq and had top security clearance. I dont remember the exact circumstance but whilst travelling her purse was stolen, containing all of her credentials, passport etc. I do remember it causing quite a kafluffle.

[dataway]

Bear in mind this has nothing to do with filing electronically or not. Typically the scanners are randomly generating SS numbers and filing thousands of returns. They try to get them in BEFORE the actual person files ... so the sooner you file the better.

In cases where they actually have your SS AND other personal info ... well you are screwed and will usually have to consult a theft identity consultant.

We file almost immediately after the start date, usually within a week or so. That leaves almost no time for a scammer to get a fake return in ahead of you. Once your real return is filed the IRS will reject all others.

The hardest part was getting some of our financial institutions to send us our forms in a timely manner so we could file at the earliest date possible.

We've been using Turbo Tax for over a decade now, it's been absolutely painless.

[SRR]

Don't be lazy. Keep all your receipts for anything you buy and destroy them yourselves. Never buy anything over the phone giving your card number to that person. I make it a point never to hand my CC to anyone who goes out of my sight. If you have a curbside mail box make sure it one of those security ones. My wife had her purse stolen out of her car once and it was a nightmare, The thieves ran up her cards and getting ID replacements was a major PITA. Not to mention these people now had our address.