COLUMBIA, S.C. — According to the South Carolina Department of Consumer Affairs, tax fraud is the most reported type of identity theft in the state.
"Someone pretends that they’re you," said Carri Grube Lybarker, Administrator of South Carolina Department of Consumer Affairs. "They take your Social Security number and file taxes in your name, with the IRS and possibly with the state."
Grube Lybarker said since Jan. 1 of this year, 397 consumers reported ID theft totaling more than $730 thousand in stolen funds. Richland County is reporting 59 cases, the most in all of SC. Horry County was second with 31 reported cases of ID theft.
"Part of it is population based because we have a larger population in the Richland County area and that’s where our office is located," said Grube Lybarker. "We find that a lot of our Midlands consumers are more aware of our office and their ability to file with us."
With more people holiday shopping, the agency is warning people:
- "Don’t use debit cards online. A thief using your debit card number can drain your bank account before you even notice it. With a hijacked credit card number, while your available credit may be affected, your pocketbook is unchanged because of the added protections credit cards offer.
- Closely monitor your credit report and financial statements/accounts. Check all monthly statements and account activity. Review your statements and credit report for unauthorized purchases/accounts and suspicious items. You can obtain your FREE credit reports by visiting www.annualcreditreport.com or calling (877) 322-8228. Because of the pandemic, you can pull your credit reports once a week until April 2022.
- Consider a fraud alert and security freeze. A fraud alert tells a business accessing your report to take extra steps to verify that you are the one seeking its goods/services. When a security freeze is in place, no one can access your report without your OK. Both are FREE, just contact one of the three major credit reporting agencies to place an alert and contact each to place a freeze: Equifax (800) 685-1111, Experian (888) 397-3742 and TransUnion (888) 909-8872."
If caught for tax fraud, you will face criminal charges, according to Ashley Thomas, Deputy Director of Communications and Strategic Solutions for the Department of Revenue.
"Those charges and penalties could range from a financial fine, in the amount determined by a court or up to 10 years in prison," Thomas said.
She said the agency has a way to crack down on identity theft.
"We may at some point, issue an identity verification quiz, and individual code verification if we suspect that you potentially could be a victim of tax identity fraud," Thomas said.
If you do suspect tax fraud, you are urged to contact the SCDCA at: (844) 835-5322 or fill out an ID Theft Intake form by visiting consumer.sc.gov.