With employees from the so-called Department of Government Efficiency poking around in agency systems, faith in data security isn’t what it once was. The tool, an identity protection PIN, can help.

Here’s a terrible thing that happens: Thieves pretend they’re you, file a tax return in your name very early in the year, claim a fat refund and run away with the money.

When you try to file your own return, the Internal Revenue Service rejects it. After all, according to the agency’s system, your taxes have already been filed.

Months, and sometimes years, of hellish red tape ensues.

The I.R.S. has a tool called an identity protection PIN, or IP PIN, that can prevent this nightmare in most instances. You register and hand over some personal information so the government can verify you. Then you get a six-digit IP PIN to use when filing your taxes each year.

Easy enough, right? But my inbox

Keep reading this article on The New York Times Your Money.