Local expert says ‘no one really safe’ from ID theft; offers tips for protection
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JACKSON, Tenn. — A computer breach at the Internal Revenue Service is bigger than the agency originally disclosed. The IRS said criminals actually stole data from more than double as many people as first thought. “It’s only a matter of time before we’re all exposed,” risk consultant Mark Hawk said. The IRS said 334,000 potential victims had information stolen from an agency website. “At the end of the day, no one is really safe,” Hawk said. “The IRS and Office of Personnel Management have proven that.” Hawk works for LegalShield, a company that helps identity theft victims. He encouraged people to be aware of who you give your social security number to and what that person is doing to protect it. “By law we only have to give our social security number to two entities — our employer and a federal government entity,” Hawk said. Hawk said an identity theft happens every two seconds. Vickie Richardson said she was a victim in the past. “There’s a lot of people that sit around and just try to hack computers and hack information, so there’s always a concern,” she said. Hawk encourages people to monitor bank accounts regularly and check your credit score three times a year. “You can do that for free one time a year with each credit repository,” Hawk said. “There’s three of them.” Experts say to shred mail because thieves can use your name, address, bank account and medical policy to get information. Hawk said children are 52 percent more likely to be victims of identity theft than adults. He recommended checking their credit report as well. The IRS is sending letters to warn victims about potential identity theft and offer free credit protection.
