Someone filed my taxes for me ;-(

[Typ616]

And I don't mean my accountant.... apparently this is becoming a real prevalent issue. Almost a million bogus refund claims last year. They have your name a social # and file your taxes with fake W2s in order to claim a BS refund. (apparently the IRS issues $ before they double check the W2s) Then you go file electronically and you get told "uh sorry, you already filed" - denied... Lots of fun ensues (affidavit, forms, 6 months delays in getting your refund if any)... happened to a friend a few weeks back, and now me. I'm fuzzy with how they actually collect though... (though I have a clue after receiving and cancelling an unsollicited debit card in the mail a few weeks back - could be part of their plan)

Dunno why I'm surprised honestly, I can think of at least 5 *major* companies that "lost" our info already, including my past employer. I'm surprised my children aren't being called by debt collectors by now. Anyway, the point of this is: unless you are about to go buya house or car, go freeze your credit with all 3 big companies, well worth the $10 each to prevent more crap (you can lift the freeze with a pin # when shopping for a loan). Doesn't help with the IRS though, for them you 'll need a special pin, but contacting them by phone is impossible anymore. 100% overwhelmed in the fraud division.

Silver lining: no credit damage yet, or new cards or loans... all clean (you get a free report after filing a fraud claim - also free). Just the IRS... for now... Welcome to the digital age !

[GH85Carrera]

60 minutes did a report on how bad the problem is. The IRS sends out BILLIONS of dollars every year to fraudsters and can't figure out how to stop it, or even get the money back!

[Baz]

IMO our current Federal Income Tax system is out of date and should be replaced by some other easier system like the flat, fair, or 999 tax system - I don't care which....something better than what we have.

[Typ616]

Originally Posted by Baz

IMO our current Federal Income Tax system is out of date and should be replaced by some other easier system like the flat, fair, or 999 tax system - I don't care which....something better than what we have.

Ditto. I like the idea of a sales tax. Taxed on what you buy.
I gotta go freeze the kids too, now... this is getting $$$.

[rammstein]

Originally Posted by Typ616

And I don't mean my accountant.... apparently this is becoming a real prevalent issue.

Happened to my coworker as well. He somehow found out early enough that the fraudsters didn't get the cash. He then signed up for Lifelock, which I may research and do as well for some kind of protection.

[techweenie]

I heard on NPR that some huge percentage of IRS agents are nearing retirement age -- as if becoming an IRS agent wasn't an attractive job for young folks. Go figure.

[Typ616]

Originally Posted by rammstein

Happened to my coworker as well. He somehow found out early enough that the fraudsters didn't get the cash. He then signed up for Lifelock, which I may research and do as well for some kind of protection.

FYI, lifelock does mostly stuff you can do yourself for free (or cheap)... Place fraud alerts, freeze credit ($10 vs cost of lifelock), plus they also go on the dark web look for your info supposedly - like a bunch of geeks from lifelock are gonna buy my info back from Yuri, please....

Anyway the consensus was that they're charging quite a bit yearly vs a one time $10 credit freeze. Their 1Mil$ guarantee only works if the leak happened under their supervision too, and lots of gotchas... Anyway, good idea in principle, but do your research first...

[jyl]

Originally Posted by Typ616

And I don't mean my accountant.... apparently this is becoming a real prevalent issue. Almost a million bogus refund claims last year. They have your name a social # and file your taxes with fake W2s in order to claim a BS refund. (apparently the IRS issues $ before they double check the W2s) Then you go file electronically and you get told "uh sorry, you already filed" - denied... Lots of fun ensues (affidavit, forms, 6 months delays in getting your refund if any)... happened to a friend a few weeks back, and now me. I'm fuzzy with how they actually collect though... (though I have a clue after receiving and cancelling an unsollicited debit card in the mail a few weeks back - could be part of their plan)

Dunno why I'm surprised honestly, I can think of at least 5 *major* companies that "lost" our info already, including my past employer. I'm surprised my children aren't being called by debt collectors by now. Anyway, the point of this is: unless you are about to go buya house or car, go freeze your credit with all 3 big companies, well worth the $10 each to prevent more crap (you can lift the freeze with a pin # when shopping for a loan). Doesn't help with the IRS though, for them you 'll need a special pin, but contacting them by phone is impossible anymore. 100% overwhelmed in the fraud division.

Silver lining: no credit damage yet, or new cards or loans... all clean (you get a free report after filing a fraud claim - also free). Just the IRS... for now... Welcome to the digital age !

Seems like IRS could screen returns for big changes from year-to-year in employer, income, deductions, address, etc. Presumably the scammer doesn't have your last years' return or W2.

[techweenie]

Originally Posted by Typ616

FYI, lifelock does mostly stuff you can do yourself for free (or cheap)... Place fraud alerts, freeze credit ($10 vs cost of lifelock), plus they also go on the dark web look for your info supposedly - like a bunch of geeks from lifelock are gonna buy my info back from Yuri, please....

Anyway the consensus was that they're charging quite a bit yearly vs a one time $10 credit freeze. Their 1Mil$ guarantee only works if the leak happened under their supervision too, and lots of gotchas... Anyway, good idea in principle, but do your research first...

Lifelock is not exactly a scam, but it isn't much of a help.

I use creditkarma.com which is free and lets you monitor your activity.

[stomachmonkey]

So if this happens and you owe big bucks should you just not file and call it a day?

I know, wishful thinking.

[Typ616]

The IRS docs specify you SHOULD file anyway, nice try ;-)

I talked to my accountant today, he said he got 4 rejected just this morning... Said it's often just tax hassle/scam, not extending to all the rest of ID theft, but still I should keep watch over my credit. Which is all frozen solid - something I was gonna do anyway but regret not doing sooner.

So that's the Karma for the day people. If you're not in the middle of buying a house or car, freeze your credit and opt out of those credit card offers... Doesn't mean you can't have credit, it just means if someone tries to open an account with your creds, they will call you and/or prevent it. It's all free of cheap ($30 - $10 each agency), lots of info on the web... It's happening to a lot of people now... Don't be next !

[Typ616]

Originally Posted by techweenie

Lifelock is not exactly a scam, but it isn't much of a help.

I use creditkarma.com which is free and lets you monitor your activity.

Good advice, but FYI creditkarma (presumably because they are a free service and not one of the big 3) no longer works when you freeze your credit. Only the actual agencies you froze with (experian, transunion and whoever #3 is) - I just found that out by trying... In a way that made me feel good, I'm now locked up tight !

[craigster59]

It's Experian, Transunion and Equifax. If you freeze one they contact the other two, so no need to pay $10 to each.

[patssle]

Happened to my dad too this weekend. Guess the IRS can't automatically detect 10 houses (cheap rental investments) disappearing from whomever submitted and flag it. He did a credit check and it was clean.

He did notice the government did a credit check on him though when he signed up for health care. That's interesting.

[Crowbob]

Originally Posted by GH85Carrera

60 minutes did a report on how bad the problem is. The IRS sends out BILLIONS of dollars every year to fraudsters and can't figure out how to stop it, or even get the money back!

Has it ever occured to anyone that maybe the IRS doesn't want the money back?

The IRS is another federal agency that does its job very poorly and is getting worse at it. Like protecting the borders. Like the VA, like SS and the EPA and…

[RF5BPilot]

You'd think that an agency that claims to have sophisticated algorithms to spot those who should be audited would have the ability to spot those directing refunds to unusual destinations.


On another note, a couple of weeks ago, bought a 1975 acoustic guitar. The seller had the original sales receipt from 1976 -- which had his (long departed) mother's driver's license and social security number as standard items on the sales receipt. How times have changed.

[ossiblue]

Originally Posted by craigster59

It's Experian, Transunion and Equifax. If you freeze one they contact the other two, so no need to pay $10 to each.

A fraud alert only requires contacting one of the three credit agencies, and it is free. A freeze, however, requires contacting all three separately, giving them personal information, getting a security PIN, and paying a fee to all three, separately.

[cashflyer]

I make sure that I am never due a refund. I don't want to be waiting around on MY money.

Can't file my taxes because somebody else already has?
Ok, Uncle - when you get that sorted out, let me know and I'll send in some money.

[ossiblue]

Originally Posted by RF5BPilot

You'd think that an agency that claims to have sophisticated algorithms to spot those who should be audited would have the ability to spot those directing refunds to unusual destinations.

The vast majority of personal filings are relatively simple and refund amounts do not warrant close scrutiny by agents. The reality is, these types of returns are only checked for math errors or technical errors like not having a signature or failing to check a proper box. They don't care where the refund is to be sent, especially if it's a electronic filing with only a routing number. That's why the scammers are able to file under the radar, so to speak.

[john70t]

Originally Posted by GH85Carrera

60 minutes did a report on how bad the problem is. The IRS sends out BILLIONS of dollars every year to fraudsters and can't figure out how to stop it, or even get the money back!

Don't worry, it's only going to Al Quaida through a Bermuda startup corp.
Totally insane.
There has to be insider involvement.

"I sent my taxes to my friend Irwin Richard Stanton at the Federal Trashery(a company like federal express and the federal reserve).
What do you mean I have to pay them again?"