March 1, 2013 Tax Blog
Identity Theft, Tax Fraud, and Phishing
The IRS has made protecting tax payers, their refunds from identity theft, and the victims of such a top priority. In 2012, the IRS more than doubled its employees who work on tax identity theft. They also were able to prevent the refund of $20 billion in fraudulently filed refunds last year. The IRS has arrested more than 100 people in connection to these crimes. In January of 2013, they gave out 734 enforcement action against the targeted 389 suspects they focused on in that month alone.
Victims more often than not don’t learn that their identity was used to file fraudulent returns to claim a refund until they try to file their actual tax return and it is refused by the IRS. The IRS urges taxpayers to quickly act and respond to notices from them that they might receive, so that they can start the process of correcting and securing your tax account and identity.
The IRS additionally urges taxpayers to not respond to emails or electronic media that appears to come from them. This is referred to as “Phishing”, and is a method used to gain information needed to steal your identity. No matter how official it may appear the IRS does not initiate contact with taxpayers electronically. They will not electronically ask for pertinent personal information either.
Any suspicious correspondence should be forwarded to the IRS at phishing@irs.gov.
For more information on identity theft and fraud, visit www.irs.gov and click on their “Identity Theft” link at the bottom of the page.
If you suspect you have been the victim of identity theft and fraudulently filed tax refunds, call the IRS Identity Theft Hotline at 1-800-908-4490.
For more information on phishing, visit www.irs.gov and click on “Reporting Phishing” link at the bottom of the page.
For more information visit our website at www.dncpas.com or give one of our friendly tax accountants a call at 239-261-8337. Davidson and Nick CPAs has been serving Southwest Florida in helping individuals and businesses as CPAs and most trusted advisor since 1989.