Friday, August 23rd, 2013 @ 2:43AM

by Peter O’Dowd

Marketplace Morning Report for Monday, April 15, 2013

Every tax season the Internal Revenue Service puts out a list called the "Dirty Dozen" which ranks the worst tax schemes of the year. In 2013, identity theft is the dirtiest of them all. The U.S. Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration says identity theft could cost the IRS $21 billion over the next five years.

"There’s a shift in some organized crime from drugs to tax-ID theft, and the increased use of electronic filing may contribute as well," says the Federal Trade Commission’s Lisa Schifferle. Her agency does consumer outreach on the issue.

This is how the tax scheme might go: Someone steals your Social Security number, files a tax return on your behalf, and then collects your refund. It takes a victim nearly 200 days on average to get the refund they deserve from the IRS.

Read full article

Posted by cfegov
Categories: Online articles