The IRS doesn't take any safeguards until after your identity has been stolen.
My wife and I locked out credit several years ago. Early this year or last year, we started getting credit card rejection letters from companies that we don't do business with (ex, Mayfair). One company told me the person trying to open an account had my wife's social security number, birth date, and other information. They checked credit and found it was locked, and sent the rejection letter to the address on record with the credit bureau.
I called the IRS and told them somebody was trying to steal my wife's identity, and asked them to assign us a PIN code so they couldn't file a tax return in her name. The IRS said they wouldn't do that until there was a case of identity theft. By then, it's too late.
Mike
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