The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has warned in recent years of an increase in tax refund fraud, impacting thousands of individual tax payers. Criminals can obtain personal information, such as an individual’s tax ID number or Social Security number, and file a tax return in hopes of receiving a refund.
The IRS has said that it does not send unsolicited email, text messages or use social media to discuss personal tax issues with an individual, and such communications should be treated as potential tax return fraud. Anyone who receives a telephone call from someone claiming to be an IRS employee and requests money should consult the IRS and report a potential tax refund scam.
One of the U.S. Justice Department’s priorities is prosecuting people who use stolen identities to steal money from the United States Treasury by utilizing types of tax scams and tax return fraud. Such tax scams have cost thousands of American taxpayers and the United States Treasury billions of dollars.
Most tax scams and tax refund fraud schemes steal the Social Security Numbers (SSN) and other personal identifying information of individuals and file false returns with the Internal Revenue Service. These criminal enterprises aim to exploit the general anonymity of automated systems. As it stands, most people prepare and file tax returns electronically, and automated systems at the IRS generate income tax refunds in the form of electronic payments.
Identity theft and tax scam crimes may steal Social Security Numbers from hospitals, nursing homes, and other vulnerable databases. Typically, tax refund fraud perpetrators file a false return electronically early in the tax filing season before legitimate taxpayers have time to file their returns.
Identity theft can be a traumatic experience for victims of tax fraud, personal data theft and security breaches that may result in stolen information and substantial financial losses. Advances in technology have made consumer activity very convenient, but now present serious security risks for anyone with an online presence.
Online scams, stolen bank and credit card statements can compromise delicate personal information. If anyone has stolen your personal or financial information or assumed your identity, contact an identity theft lawyer as soon as possible.
Joe Lyon is a Personal Data Breach Attorney and Identity Theft Lawyer representing victims of fraud, security breaches and identity theft nationwide.
Common Types of Identity Theft
According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), approximately 17 million Americans were victims of identity theft last year. Identity theft can occur when a person uses your personal information without permission to commit fraud or make unlawful purchases. The most commonly stolen personal data includes:
The most common forms of identity theft include:
- Financial theft: using someone else’s identity to obtain goods, services, or credit.
- Cloning Identity: using someone’s identifying information to assume their identity in daily life.
- Medical Identity theft: using a false identity to obtain prescriptions or medical care records.
- Business Identity Theft: fraudulent individuals pose as owners or employees of a business to obtain cash, credit, or loans.
Criminals poach on the following:
- Bank account numbers
- Tax ID numbers
- Business statements
- Company credit card numbers
How to Prevent Tax Refund Fraud
To protect yourself against identity theft and tax refund fraud, you should follow careful Internet practice, which should include:
- Creating unique passwords for each online bank and email account
- Use trusted websites
- Use updated antivirus programs
- Limiting personal information on social media
- Keep track of financial accounts
Common tactics and ways data theft and tax refund fraud is committed:
- Criminals pose as a bank representatives and ask for banking information
- Fraudsters pose as an insurance agents or corporate agencies to access personal information
- Employees gain access to sensitive information to exploit it
- Credit card fraud
- Dumpster-diving in recycling or trash bins for financial info
Contact an Identity Theft Lawyer
Identity theft, tax return fraud and personal data misuse crimes can affect victims for months and years after the fact. It is important to contact an experienced security breach attorney and Identity theft lawyer to begin the process of recovering financial losses and to mitigate the damage of a company or individual reputation in the future.
