IRS Will Now Provide Copies of Fraudulent Returns to Victims

Monday, January 4th, 2016 @ 5:08PM

IRS Will Now Provide Copies of Fraudulent Returns to Victims

June 2, 2015

Now you can learn what scammers know.

The Internal Revenue Service will now provide identity theft victims with copies of fraudulent tax returns filed in their name.

The agency agreed
to change its policyafter New Hampshire Sen. Kelly Ayotte wrote to IRS Commissioner John Koskinen urging the agency to provide victims with copies of bogus returns filed in their names so that they could better understand the extent of the ID theft. The agency had previously refused to release the fraudulent returns for privacy reasons.

Posted by cfegov
Categories: Uncategorized

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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