Identity Theft

Here's another reason to file your tax returns as early as possible: an identity thief might beat you to the money. Identity thieves are filing fake federal returns using taxpayers' Social Security numbers and claiming tax refunds worth billions of dollars. The taxpayers only find out about it when their returns are rejected by the IRS because someone already received a refund using their identity. It's a big problem — and one that's rapidly growing, according to a report this month from the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration.

Let's turn to baseball to sum up the Maryland legislative session's impact on consumers: It had a few singles but no home runs. "We made a lot of progress on some really critical issues," says Marceline White, executive director of the Maryland Consumer Rights Coalition. "But there is a lot of work left to do and in some places we had some setbacks. " Last year's legislative session was strong on consumer protections, with Marylanders still reeling from the foreclosure crisis and weak economy, White says.

A state business group has invited members of the public to bring their sensitive documents Saturday to "Shred Day" identity theft prevention events in Baltimore and Anne Arundel counties. The events, hosted by the Better Business Bureau of Greater Maryland, will send trucks to Arundel Mills (behind hhgregg) and The Avenue in White Marsh (behind the AMC Lowes), and will accept documents until noon. Each truck is capable of shredding up to 8,000 pounds of personal information.

The Harford County State's Attorney's office is participating in National Crime Victims' Rights Week April 22-28 and will feature a program about presenting crime this Monday. This annual observance seeks to increase public awareness and knowledge among crime victims and survivors about the wide range of rights and services available to people who have been victimized by crime, according to State's Attorney Joseph Cassilly. The theme for the 2012 National Crime Victims' Rights Week is "Extending the Vision, Reaching Every Victim.

Dan Rodricks ' column on what a boon to society illegal immigrants are noted the billions of dollars illegal immigrants pay into Social Security ("Welcome to Baltimore, no questions asked, March 27). But illegal immigrants aren't permitted to legally obtain Social Security numbers, so they are committing a crime when they use stolen Social Security numbers. Is Mr Rodricks endorsing identity theft or the theft of someone else's personal information? Or is this a right he reserves only for "honest, law abiding" illegals?

Each year, the IRS puts out a list of the top 12 scams to watch out for -- or not perpetrate. This year's list : Identity theft The IRS says it has a comprehensive strategy targeting ID theft. It also has increased internal reviews “to spot false tax returns before tax refunds are issued and is working to help victims of identity theft refund schemes.” Phishing , in which a thief sends an email or sets up a fake website with the hope of luring consumers to giving up some of their personal information.

As concern grows over child identity theft, Maryland is considering legislation that would make the state the first in the nation to protect a youngster's credit report. Minors aren't supposed to have such reports because they're too young to get credit. But the Maryland legislation would allow parents or guardians to create a credit file for a child and then immediately freeze it. This would prevent a thief from opening credit under the child's name. "It's a great step in the right direction," says Bo Holland, chief executive of AllClear ID, an identity protection company in Austin, Texas.

A bipartisan group of senators put aside the battling that often prevails in Annapolis to announce Thursday a common agenda of bills that Democrats and Republicans can rally around. The bills would preserve scholarships for veterans, protect children from identity theft, promote social studies in public schools, help high-tech workers with the cost of security clearances and shield family farms from estate taxes. Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller started the news conference in the Senate's lounge with an endorsement of the idea of bringing together lawmakers of both parties on issues that do not excite partisan passions.

Beware of outside websites claiming they want to help you file for unemployment benefits. The Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing & Regulation's unemployment insurance division warns these sites can collect personal information about you and possibly leave you open to identity theft. The state named one of the sites, Unemployment Help Center, in a press release. The only way to apply for unemployment benefits, the state says, is directly through the state's unemployment insurance division's website or by calling its office at 410-949-0022 or 800-827-4839.

Here's a weekend project: protect yourself from identity theft. Spend a little time cleaning out your filing cabinets and bring documents that you want to destroy to Parkville's Destinations Credit Union from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday. Incred-A-Shred will have one of their mobile shredding units at the credit union at that time. Destinations is at 8767 Satyr Hill Road, Parkville. Wondering what documents you need to hang on to, and which you can toss (into a shredder)