How to prevent tax fraud occurring the third time?
February 25, 2012 10:13 AM Subscribe
It's tax time and we're having a problem again. Last year when we went to file our taxes electronically, they were rejected due to someone borrowing our daughter's social security number and using it to file taxes. We filed police reports, IRS reports and submitted our taxes by paper.
The same problem is occurring this year. What can we do to fix this and prevent from occurring next year. Is there a specific number, agency or method to request help from? The IRS is closed over the weekend, so we'll be calling them this week, how should we go about doing it?
I am not sure what you should do to resolve this for this year, but perhaps next year you could file as soon as possible. If you use the number first, the other people can't, and they will pick someone else's number.
posted by Monday at 10:57 AM on February 25, 2012
posted by Monday at 10:57 AM on February 25, 2012
Couple of questions:
-- Did they file a tax return in your daughter's name, or just list her as a dependent?
-- Any idea where the return originated? (Particular city, particular tax preparation agency, etc?)
-- Generally, did anything come of the investigation last year? This really seems like it should be solvable -- or at least, traceable to the likely suspects.
I would contact police, of course, but ALSO -- and most importantly -- the FBI and US attorney's office where you live and where you think the fraudulent tax return originated. The investigative resources of the federal government are much greater than local police, federal investigators are far scarier and more effective, and their rate of conviction and their assiduity in rooting out and kicking the asses of scumbag fraudsters in financial schemes is often much greater than police who are better at solving street crimes.
These sorts of crimes are often an inside job involving a fly-by-night tax preparation business and ghetto check cashing establishments. I recently represented someone who worked at a check cashing place and was allegedly paid to "look the other way" and not require ID's when stolen refund checks were being cashed. Because this involves federal tax dollars and check fraud, federal prosecutors were involved (not with my client, but with the ringleader) and it is a very, very serious crime.
posted by jayder at 10:58 AM on February 25, 2012 [2 favorites]
-- Did they file a tax return in your daughter's name, or just list her as a dependent?
-- Any idea where the return originated? (Particular city, particular tax preparation agency, etc?)
-- Generally, did anything come of the investigation last year? This really seems like it should be solvable -- or at least, traceable to the likely suspects.
I would contact police, of course, but ALSO -- and most importantly -- the FBI and US attorney's office where you live and where you think the fraudulent tax return originated. The investigative resources of the federal government are much greater than local police, federal investigators are far scarier and more effective, and their rate of conviction and their assiduity in rooting out and kicking the asses of scumbag fraudsters in financial schemes is often much greater than police who are better at solving street crimes.
These sorts of crimes are often an inside job involving a fly-by-night tax preparation business and ghetto check cashing establishments. I recently represented someone who worked at a check cashing place and was allegedly paid to "look the other way" and not require ID's when stolen refund checks were being cashed. Because this involves federal tax dollars and check fraud, federal prosecutors were involved (not with my client, but with the ringleader) and it is a very, very serious crime.
posted by jayder at 10:58 AM on February 25, 2012 [2 favorites]
Have you found and pursued the items on the IRS identity theft page?
posted by yclipse at 2:04 PM on February 25, 2012
posted by yclipse at 2:04 PM on February 25, 2012
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by melissasaurus at 10:26 AM on February 25, 2012 [1 favorite]