Media Articles
IRS Says Tax-Related Identity Theft Is Rising
“Tax fraud through identity theft has become an ordinary street crime,” Bill Nelson, D-Fla., chairman of the Senate Finance Subcommittee on Fiscal Responsibility and Economic Growth, told a panel of witnesses during a March 20 hearing on the IRS’s response to the problem. “All the fraudster has to do is…
Feds change procedures to speed tax fraud prosecutions
After prodding from U.S. attorneys facing what one calls “a tsunami” of tax refund fraud, the Justice Department on Tuesday issued a directive designed to speed prosecutions. U.S. Attorney Robert O’Neill said the directive represents “a seismic shift” in the way tax prosecutions are handled. No longer will federal prosecutors…
IRS boosts staff in tax refund fraud
The Internal Revenue Service is tripling the number of staff members nationwide who are dedicated to addressing the issue of identity theft tax refund fraud, U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor said. Castor, the Tampa Democrat, said she was briefed Friday by IRS officials regarding progress the agency is making to tackle…
Chairmen Johnson and Herger Announce a Hearing on Removing Social Security Numbers from Medicare Cards
House Ways and Means Social Security Subcommittee Chairman Sam Johnson (R-TX) and Health Subcommittee Chairman Wally Herger (R-CA) today announced that the Subcommittees will hold a joint hearing on removing Social Security numbers from beneficiaries’ Medicare cards. The hearing will take place on Wednesday, August 1, 2012, in 1100 Longworth…
Fraudulent Tax Refund Attempts Caused Delays for Legitimate Taxpayers in 2012
The Internal Revenue Service identified 39.1 percent more attempts at fraudulent tax refunds last tax season than in the prior year, leading to tax refund delays early in tax season. Most tax refunds were processed on a timely basis last tax season, according to a new report from the Treasury Inspector General…
Identity thieves could rake in $26 billion in tax refunds
Criminals who file fraudulent tax returns by stealing people’s identities could rake in an estimated $26 billion over the next five years because the IRS cannot keep up with the amount of the fraud, Treasury Inspector General J. Russell George said Tuesday. “Our analysis found that, although the IRS detects…
Billions in ID Theft–Related Tax Fraud Undetected by IRS
Identity theft is having a much larger impact on tax administration than the amount the Internal Revenue Service detects and prevents, according to a new report. The report, by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration , noted that the IRS reported that it detected 938,664 tax returns totaling $6.5 billion…
IRS head apologizes to ID theft victims
Victims of identity theft who say they received shabby treatment from the IRS got a personal and public apology from the agency’s commissioner on Capitol Hill Thursday as lawmakers explored ways to tighten the agency’s internal controls to reduce the number of refunds it sends out to scammers. In addition…
Billions in Tax Refund Fraud–and How to Stop Most of it
The Treasury may be losing as much as $5 billion a year from fraudulent tax refund claims—and most of that fraud is entirely preventable. The New York Times reportedyesterday about the rampant use of identity theft to exploit weaknesses in the IRS’s tax refund processes, sometimes resulting in thousands of fraudulent…
Chairmen Boustany and Johnson Announce Hearing on Identity Theft and Tax Fraud
House Ways and Means Oversight Subcommittee Chairman Charles Boustany, Jr., MD (R-LA) and Social Security Subcommittee Chairman Sam Johnson (R-TX) today announced that the Subcommittees on Oversight and Social Security will hold a hearing on tax fraud involving identity theft. The hearing will take place on Tuesday, May 8, 2012, in…
IRS may have refunded $5 billion or more to identity thieves
They estimate another $21 billion could make its way to ID thieves over the next five years. The IRS is detecting far fewer fraudulent tax refund claims than actually occur, according to a government audit that warned the widespread problem could undermine public trust in the U.S. tax system. Although the IRS detected about…
Thieves steal thousands of South Floridians’ IDs to file fake tax refunds – January 10, 2013
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…
