Tax Refund Fraud and Identity Theft Protection
April 7, 2015
When the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) released their statistics on consumer complaints earlier this year, Identity Theft held its position as the top complaint (322,646 reports), with nearly a third of those reports (109,063) categorized as Tax Identity Theft complaints. Unfortunately, with each recent tax season there are more victims of tax-related fraud and identify theft. This occurs when a name, birth date and social security number are stolen and used to file a tax return claiming a fraudulent refund. The following prevention and assistance resources are available.
For the 2014 filing season, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has expanded efforts to protect taxpayers and help victims of federal tax-related fraud.
The Wisconsin Department of Revenue (DOR) is dedicated to helping Wisconsin taxpayers who are victims of identity theft. DOR partners with the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection and the IRS. Visit the WI DOR Identity Theft web page for Wisconsin specific resources to help fraud victims.
The nation’s consumer protection agency, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), works to prevent fraudulent, deceptive and unfair business practices. The FTC website has directions for victims of identity theft, and instruction on how to create an Identity Theft Report.
Source: UW Service Center
Categories: Tax