Eleanor Price has been a kindly, grandmotherly single woman who has lived alone in a small town. She has trusted her family more than anyone. She has devoted her entire life to raising her children and being there for her grandchildren whenever they needed her. But on one winter night, the trust was challenged in the most unforeseen manner.
A letter from the Internal Revenue Service came next. It informed her that Eleanor owed several thousand dollars in back taxes on income she had never earned. She read it twice, believing that she had made an error. But the amounts were explicit. The IRS believed that she had a second income that she hadn’t reported.
Eleanor was stunned. She had not worked in more than a decade. Social Security and a modest retirement fund were all that supported her. She spent a sleepless night and phoned her daughter in tears. The family decided to seek the advice of a tax professional to learn the facts.
When she cross-checked the IRS records, the agent discovered that another person had utilized Eleanor’s Social Security number to work in the background. Her earnings from the work had been reported by the employer under her name, making it appear as though she was hiding income. The misery did not end—the records showed the employer at an address near her grandson’s apartment.
Eleanor did not believe it at first. Her grandson Jason had been struggling to find consistent employment. When she asked him, he cried and admitted that he had used her Social Security number so he could work illegally. He never imagined the IRS would make him send her a notice.
Eleanor’s heart was crushed, but she did what she needed to do. The tax rep helped her file an Identity Theft Affidavit (Form 14039) with the IRS, clearing her name that she did not receive the income. It took a couple of months, but the IRS cleared her name. Jason received his punishment, but Eleanor hoped it would be a lesson in honesty and responsibility.
She now recommends that others, especially the elderly, keep an eye on their tax refunds each year and protect their Social Security number. Even family members can be negligent and cause emotional and financial pain.
Protect your own information, even from those you love. Identity theft lurks around every corner, and sometimes the toughest lessons are in the form of family members.
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