#Equifax lift security freeze code#

Many health insurers have internal special investigation units and anti‐fraud personnel to root out medical identity fraud, and if suspicious activity is detected, they'll send email alerts to the policyholder, says Cathryn Donaldson, a spokeswoman for America's Health Insurance Plans, the trade association of health insurers. If you suspect fraud, you can contact the IRS online or find an office near you using the Taxpayer Assistance Center Office Locator.ĭata from the Equifax breach can be used to steal your benefits from private health insurance, Medicare, or Medicaid when the identity thief uses your coverage to pay for his own medical treatment and prescriptions. The balance updates every 24 hours, usually overnight, but there is a one- to three-week lag in the time it takes for payments to show up. Activity there-if it's not yours-can be a sign of fraud. Mattson also recommends that you periodically view your IRS account information, which shows when returns were filed and which refund payments were made. 'Your account would be flagged for additional monitoring for suspicious activity,' he says. Andrew Mattson, a tax partner at the Moss Adams tax firm in Silicon Valley, recommends that taxpayers who don't officially qualify for a PIN should file a Form 14039, Identity Theft Affidavit (PDF). The IRS would not say whether those affected by the Equifax breach would qualify for a PIN. You must temporarily lift your Equifax credit freeze for the IRS to issue the PIN.

An identity thief can't file his fraudulent return without your PIN.īut you can get a PIN only if you receive a CP01A form (which is sent to identity theft victims), the IRS invites you to opt-in, or you live in Georgia, Florida, or Washington, D.C., areas with the highest rates of tax-related identity theft.

#Equifax lift security freeze code#

The best defense is to obtain an Identity Protection PIN from the IRS, which is a code that must be filed with your legitimate return for it to be accepted. Though you are generally not liable for such fraud, if a criminal manages to change your tax records and receive your refund, it can take months to straighten out the mess.