Getting calls from your own number?
       From the Federal Trade Commission   July 7, 2015   by Bikram Bandy,  Do Not Call Program Coordinator, FTC

It’s like a scene out of a strange sci-fi movie. You get a call, look at the caller ID, and see that your own number is calling. Weird! No, this isn’t an alternate reality where your future self is calling the present you. It’s a scammer making an illegal robocall. 

Technology makes it easy for scammers to fake or “spoof” caller ID information. They can make it look like they’re calling from a different place or phone number. Even your number. Scammers use this trick as a way to get around call-blocking and hide from law enforcement. They hope you’ll be curious enough to pick up. Don’t fall for it.

The real callers could be calling from anywhere in the world. We’ve written about these kinds of tricks before — like when scammers pretended to be the IRS and faked caller ID so people thought it really was the IRS calling.

Bottom line? These calls from your own number are illegal. Don’t pick up — or press buttons to be taken off the call list or to talk to a live person. That just leads to more calls. It’s best to ignore them, and move on with your day. Maybe watch a really good sci-fi movie.

Are you bad at money management?  You can change that. How do you know if you're bad with your money? Here are eight reasons why you might be terrible at money management, and eight ways to change your habits for good.                               By Andrea Karim, Wise Bread          From the Christian Science Monitor – July 6, 2015  

Perpetually broke? Always holding your breath when you run your credit card, worried your balance has finally tipped over the limit? Living paycheck-to-not-quite-the-next-paycheck?

Some people are bad at money. (I should know — I used to be one of them.) But you don't have to be that way forever. Here are eight reasons you suck at money — and how to fix them.

1. You're an Impulse Spender
A little retail therapy is fine and dandy, if it's not a chronic issue that causes you financial distress. Had a rough week? Sure, a splurge on a new pair of running shoes or a shade of lipstick that is inappropriate for work can offer a quick (and temporary) pick-me-up, assuming you have the cash to spare. But if you don't, then retail therapy is a bad idea. Actually, spending just to make yourself quickly feel better is almost always a bad idea.
If you just had a baby and hate the way your body looks (I know nothing about this, shut up), then an expensive haircut and a bottle of self-tanner aren't actually going to fix the problem, although they may distract you from the issue for a day or two. If you hate your job, binge-buying a ton of video games may entertain you in your off-time, but won't actually make your working hours any more bearable.

How to Fix It
Check yo'self before you wreck yo'self if retail therapy is a regular habit. At the very least, try to determine exactly what the problem is, find the root of it, and address it head-on. If you need more education to land your dream job, then you should be focusing your finances on that, rather than on needless entertainment.

2. You're Unprepared or “Lazy”
I waste a lot of money on take out. It's not that I don't like cooking — because I do — but that I am truly terrible at meal planning and buying groceries accordingly. When I was single, eating was simply a matter of buying a fresh loaf of bread and some good cheese and maybe some cheap wine, but now I have to feed a whole family, it's become a little more complex.
Or perhaps you find yourself paying through the nose for services, like yard or home care, that you could do yourself. There's nothing inherently wrong with paying someone else to perform work for you, as long as you can afford it, but if your budget is stretched, then cutting back makes sense.

How to Fix It
Find ways to make the necessary work more bearable. If it's meal planning, take a look at websites and meal planning apps that help you plan, shop, and cook. Enlist the help of your favorite music while cleaning and doing laundry. Get a lawn mower that works. I had to spend $400 to find a lawn mower that I could start, but that's still cheaper than paying someone to come and mow my lawn every week or so.

3. You Had Bad Money Role Models
Maybe your parents were terrible at money and you learned their bad money habits. It can be hard to break out of this mold if you've been shaped by it since childhood, since old habits die hard. But if you want to put yourself in a better financial situation, you need to forget what you learned growing up and start fresh. Fortunately, it's never too late to learn good money management skills.

How to Fix It
The internet is your friend when it comes to money management. You can peruse personal finance websites (like this one!) or take a free online course in money management.


4. You Had No Money Role Models
Maybe no one ever taught you the basics of money management and you've been winging it poorly. (Incidentally, back when I was in school in the last millennium, Home Economics courses taught us how to sew and how to microwave eggs, but never mentioned budgeting.)
Parents often believe that they are doing their children a favor by not exposing them to the dirty business of money management. While understandable, the notion is misguided. Sometimes families have to tighten their belts to make ends meet, and it's not wrong to explain to children why they can't go to the movies every weekend.

How to Fix It
If you have kids, you can break the cycle of financial silence by allowing your kids to participate in planning meals and family budgets. Although learning basic money management skills can seem daunting when you're an adult, getting the whole family onboard can make it less grueling.

5. You Try to Keep up With the Joneses
Maybe you idolize people who have a lot, and believe that buying things is the only way to be happy. Or maybe you've just bought into the idea (haven't we all?) that you need to have at least as much as your neighbors in order to fit in.
Humans are social creatures, and we tend to care deeply about what our peers think of us. This is, of course, why many advertisers sell an image of who you can be when you buy their product, rather than just selling the actual product.

How to Fix It
Just like occasional shopping sprees, there's nothing inherently wrong with wanting to impress other people, but buying things specifically for the sake of shaping someone else's opinion of you is silly, especially if you don't really need what you are buying. Before you buy anything, ask yourself, "Would I spend money on this if I knew that no one else would ever see it?"

6. You Are the Joneses
Or at least… you were the Joneses, until financial circumstances changed, and your spending habits didn't.
Perhaps you lost your job and now you have to scramble to make ends meet for a while. It doesn't matter that people once envied your brand new car and constantly updated wardrobe; what matters now is putting food on the table and paying the bills. A part of your new life involves adjusting budgets and expectations to meet reality.

How to Fix It
You might find that changing your spending habits is as simple as cooking at home instead of dining out, or learning not to shop as much. Some downsizing might be more serious, like reducing the number of cars that you own or learning to live in a smaller house. Regardless of the size of changes that you have to make, you'll do well to learn to let go of the past and accept the present.

7. YOLO
Hey, I'm totally in favor of living for the moment, but that doesn't mean that you can't save for the future. And while you can't take it with you when you die, you're going to need those savings to help you out in old age (sure, it might seem far away now, but you'll be amazed at how time flies once you hit your 40s).

How to Fix It
Part of the joy of being young is taking calculated risks and enjoying the freedom that comes from a relative lack of responsibility. But that doesn't mean that you have to struggle with money — money problems are a stressor, and nothing ruins the fun like stress. Learning to live within your means while young is smart, and it's also easier than trying to learn when you are older.

8. You Have Really Bad Luck (or Dumb Relatives)
Not everyone in a lousy financial situation got there through bad habits. I happen to be good friends with a couple who continually ends up having to empty their savings because their families are financially irresponsible, and they find themselves having to bail out spendthrift siblings or medically challenged parents.
Medical bills are a major cause of bankruptcy in the U.S.; even people with health insurance can end up losing all of their savings on expensive treatments. Even Medicare and Medicaid don't cover the full cost of many treatments — my own mother recently went through both chemotherapy and radiation to treat cancer, and would have paid much more out of pocket if she hadn't purchased supplemental health insurance to cover what Medicare would not.

How to Fix It
There's not much you can do when calamity strikes, other than to pick up the pieces and learn from any mistakes (like gaps in insurance coverage). But you can prepare by having emergency savings on hand and being adequately insured.

Ten Things to Know about Identity Theft and Your Taxes

Learning you are a victim of identity theft can be a stressful event. Identity theft is also a challenge to businesses, organizations and government agencies, including the IRS. Tax-related identity theft occurs when someone uses your stolen Social Security number to file a tax return claiming a fraudulent refund.

Many times, you may not be aware that someone has stolen your identity. The IRS may be the first to let you know you’re a victim of ID theft after you try to file your taxes.

The IRS combats tax-related identity theft with a strategy of prevention, detection and victim assistance. The IRS is making progress against this crime and it remains one of the agency’s highest priorities.

Here are ten things to know about ID Theft:

1. Protect your Records.  Do not carry your Social Security card or other documents with your SSN on them. Only provide your SSN if it’s necessary and you know the person requesting it. Protect your personal information at home and protect your computers with anti-spam and anti-virus software. Routinely change passwords for Internet accounts.

2. Don’t Fall for Scams.  The IRS will not call you to demand immediate payment, nor will it call about taxes owed without first mailing you a bill. Beware of threatening phone calls from someone claiming to be from the IRS. If you have no reason to believe you owe taxes, report the incident to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) at 1-800-366-4484.

3. Report ID Theft to Law Enforcement.  If your SSN was compromised and you think you may be the victim of tax-related ID theft, file a police report. You can also file a report with the Federal Trade Commission using the FTC Complaint Assistant. It’s also important to contact one of the three credit bureaus so they can place a freeze on your account.

4. Complete an IRS Form 14039 Identity Theft Affidavit.  Once you’ve filed a police report, file an IRS Form 14039 Identity Theft Affidavit.  Print the form and mail or fax it according to the instructions. Continue to pay your taxes and file your tax return, even if you must do so by paper.

5. Understand IRS Notices.  Once the IRS verifies a taxpayer’s identity, the agency will mail a particular letter to the taxpayer. The notice says that the IRS is monitoring the taxpayer’s account. Some notices may contain a unique Identity Protection Personal Identification Number (IP PIN) for tax filing purposes.

6. IP PINs.  If a taxpayer reports that they are a victim of ID theft or the IRS identifies a taxpayer as being a victim, they will be issued an IP PIN. The IP PIN is a unique six-digit number that a victim of ID theft uses to file a tax return. In 2014, the IRS launched an IP PIN Pilot program. The program offers residents of Florida, Georgia and Washington, D.C., the opportunity to apply for an IP PIN, due to high levels of tax-related identity theft there.

7. Data Breaches.  If you learn about a data breach that may have compromised your personal information, keep in mind not every data breach results in identity theft.  Further, not every identity theft case involves taxes. Make sure you know what kind of information has been stolen so you can take the appropriate steps before contacting the IRS.

8. Report Suspicious Activity.  If you suspect or know of an individual or business that is committing tax fraud, you can visit IRS.gov and follow the chart on How to Report Suspected Tax Fraud Activity.

9. Combating ID Theft.  Over the past few years, nearly 2,000 people were convicted in connection with refund fraud related to identity theft. The average prison sentence for identity theft-related tax refund fraud grew to 43 months in 2014 from 38 months in 2013, with the longest sentence being 27 years.   During 2014, the IRS stopped more than $15 billion of fraudulent refunds, including those related to identity theft.  Additionally, as the IRS improves its processing filters, the agency has also been able to halt more suspicious returns before they are processed. So far this year, new fraud filters stopped about 3 million suspicious returns for review, an increase of more than 700,000 from the year before. 

10. Service Options. Information about tax-related identity theft is available online. We have a special section on IRS.gov devoted to identity theft and a phone number available for victims to obtain assistance.

For more on this Topic, see the Taxpayer Guide to Identity Theft.

Additional IRS Resources:

• Publication 5027, Identity Theft Information for Taxpayers
• Publication 5199, Tax Preparer Guide to Identity Theft
• Publication 4524, Security Awareness-Identity Theft Flyer
• Publication 4523, Beware of Phishing Schemes

IRS YouTube Videos:

• Are You a Victim of Identity Theft? – English | Spanish | ASL
• Protect Yourself From Identity Theft – English | Spanish | ASL
• IRS Identity Theft FAQ: First Steps for Victims – English | Spanish | ASL
• IRS Efforts on Identity Theft – English | Spanish | ASL
• IRS Identity Theft FAQ: Going After the Bad Guys – English | Spanish | ASL
• Phishing-Malware – English | Spanish | ASL

IRS Podcasts:

• Are You a Victim of Identity Theft? – English | Spanish
• Protect Yourself From Identity Theft – English | Spanish