Thieves steal thousands of South Floridians’ IDs to file fake tax refunds

Thieves steal thousands of South Floridians’ IDs to file fake tax refunds – January 10, 2013

Friday, January 11th, 2013 @ 7:18PM

According to the article a couple arrived at a restaurant in downtown Fort Lauderdale ready to do business. The product they were selling: a flash drive with 700,000 stolen identifications that could be used to file fraudulent tax returns and rake in millions of dollars, according to federal documents.

According to this article, Federal officials have stepped up an aggressive crackdown by a special task force with separate units in Broward, Palm Beach and Miami-Dade counties.

According to the article, the task force has arrested and charged about 100 defendants since October, said Alicia Valle, spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Miami. They are responsible for claiming more than $40 million in fraudulent refunds, she said.

Full Article

Posted by Robert Strait
Categories: Online articles

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What is the Identity Theft Tax Refund Fraud Problem?

In general, tax-related identity theft occurs when an individual intentionally uses the Social Security number (SSN) of another person to file a false tax return with the intention of obtaining an unauthorized refund. Identity theft wreaks havoc on our tax system in many ways. Victims of identity theft not only must deal with the aftermath of an emotionally draining crime, but may also have to deal with the IRS for years to untangle the resulting tax account problems. Identity theft also impacts the public fisc, as Treasury funds are diverted to pay out improper refunds claimed by opportunistic perpetrators. In addition, identity theft takes a significant toll on the IRS, tying up limited resources that it could otherwise shift to taxpayer service or compliance initiatives