Not enough people prepare before a serious, irreversible crime is committed against them, their families, and their businesses: identity theft. And with the government’s biggest relief program in the pipelines, we’d like to remind everyone that it’s very possible for people to use your information to claim your tax returns, among other crimes.

Once you find out that you’ve had your identity stolen, there’s a lot you can do to protect yourself. However, you often don’t discover that your identity was taken until it’s too late. This typically happens when victims try to file their taxes and are notified by the IRS that their social security information was already used for a return. Victims can also sometimes receive a return that isn’t theirs.

The most important thing you can do to prevent identity theft is to take action. For one, don’t shop online or input sensitive information while using a public computer or any device using unsecured, public Wi-Fi. This can directly upload your information to any hacker that can access either the public computer or unsecured Wi-Fi. Second, update your security software often to protect against any new malware from reaching your computer.

AFEUSA members receive special discounts on cyber ID protection with Cyber ID Lock. Learn more about this ID protection benefit.