April 1, 2010

Did you know that Florida ranks third in the number of identity theft cases in the United States? And in Florida, here are the ranking in terms of identity theft cases:

1. Miami
2. Orlando
3. Tampa

And according to the Privacy Rights Clearininghouse, more than 347 million records with sensitive consumer information has been compromised since 2005.

Here is another fact that I found startling:  According to the Supreme Court, it is not against the law to go through someone else's garbage!  They are protecting the rights of dumpster divers (this practice called skipping in the United Kingdom). Even though it may not be illegal to dumpster dive, it is illegal to use the financial information found as a result of dumpster diving in a compromising manner.

How can you stop identity theft?

One of the best way to counter identity theft is to shred.  Anything that has personal information, bank account numbers, credit card numbers, social security number, medical information, legal information, etc. should be shredded instead of thrown out in the garbage.

Shred and help a good cause

The Tampa Bay Organizers is hosting a Shred-a-Thon on Saturday, April 10th.
Proceeds will benefit the Children's Cancer Center.

And with tax season in full effect, there is no better time to go through your old tax records that you don't need any more, and bring them down to the shred-a-thon.

How long to keep tax records?

Here is the excerpt from the I.R.S. site with regards to how long certain tax information should be kept:

Keep copies of your filed tax returns. They help in preparing future tax returns and making computations if you file an amended return.

You owe additional tax and situations (2), (3), and (4), below, do not apply to you; keep records for 3 years.

You do not report income that you should report, and it is more than 25% of the gross income shown on your return; keep records for 6 years.

You file a fraudulent return; keep records indefinitely.

You do not file a return; keep records indefinitely.

You file a claim for credit or refund* after you file your return; keep records for 3 years from the date you filed your original return or 2 years from the date you paid the tax, whichever is later.

You file a claim for a loss from worthless securities or bad debt deduction; keep records for 7 years.

Keep all employment tax records for at least 4 years after the date that the tax becomes due or is paid, whichever is later.

To find out more about the upcoming shred-a-thon in the Tampa Bay area, check out the link below:
http://www.tampabayorganizers.com/EventShred.html

Labels: shred-a-thon, stop identity theft, tampa bay area