The amount of identity theft cases continues to increase each year and could even affect your tax return and/or refund. Identity thieves will use another individual’s social security number in order to file a false tax return to claim a refund. This tends to happen early in the tax filing season. You may be a …
You received mail from the Arizona Department of Economic Security (DES) regarding your recent application for unemployment benefits. Trouble is you never applied for unemployment. Don’t just drop the letter in the trash. You could be a victim of identity theft, and Arizona wants to hear about it. Fraud is common with unemployment but since …
In the United States, approximately 33% of adults have experienced some form of identity theft, which is more than twice the global average. One of the most common forms of identity theft occurs through tax fraud. It is estimated that tax identity theft costs US taxpayers $5.2 billion annually. To combat this growing issue, the …
Identity theft has become a huge issue in recent years. These thieves are taking your personal information and filing phony tax returns to try to make some quick cash. In order to fight against cybercriminals the IRS has launched a public campaign called “Taxes. Security, Together.” The IRS is doing everything they can to detect …
In its continuing effort to fight tax refund fraud, the IRS is asking taxpayers and tax preparers to assist by using the new 16-digit W-2 verification code. If your 2017 Form W-2 includes a 16-digit verification code, IRS encourages you to enter it when prompted if using software to prepare your return. In addition, the …
Betty opened up her email and scanned through her messages. One in particular stood out, from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), so she clicked on it and began to read. It appeared that there was an issue processing her refund, and the IRS needed some additional information from her. So, she clicked on the link …
As part of its continued effort to thwart tax refund fraud, the Internal Revenue Service strengthened its e-filing validation process for the 2017 tax filing season. When e-filing a tax return, all taxpayers must validate their identity by submitting their date of birth and “shared secret information” which is: Your 2015 adjusted gross income, or …
Since 2013 phone scammers have defrauded at least 15,000 people across the United States of over $300 million by impersonating IRS agents and immigration authorities and threatening them with arrest and deportation if they did not make the demanded payments. Last month the U.S. Department of Justice indicted 56 people with conspiracy and fraud relating …
The IRS not only has to deal with taxpayers that are as harmless as you can imagine (think your grandma who wouldn’t hurt a fly), but increasingly, they also have to deal with taxpayers who are involved in such things as identify theft cases which can involve organized crime. Taxpayers come in every size and …
The Internal Revenue Service has re-launched the “Get an IP PIN” tool on IRS.gov. By adding multi-factor authentication, the IRS hopes to prevent future fraudulent applications and automated attacks. An Identity Protection Personal Identification Number (IP PIN) is given to taxpayers who are already victims of tax related identity theft. The six-digit IP PIN verifies …