So someone else filed my tax return.
 

This is going to suck.

I figure the data got out when my former health insurance company got compromised and lost everyone's information. Had to fill out a police report. Did not notice until I submitted it that it was not a secure website. GMAFB, you have to file a report and they don't have secure way to do it, great. We will just see how long it takes to get straightened out.

This is one of the reasons why I always want to have them owe me money at the end of the year.

No... you've got it all wrong.

This is the reason you want to owe them money.

Think about it.




Hope things work out.

Owing them or them owing you doesn't make a lick of difference. The scammers use fake numbers anyways and know how to make sure they get the most possible without throwing up big red flags and even if they do, so what, the money will be deposited and long gone before the IRS figures it out.

You should read more into this problem. With the way the IRS currently runs, there is no end in sight to this scam and very, very little being done about it.

I had a similar thing a few years back. My electronic submission was bounced back saying that a return had been filed for that SS#. IIRC it took 2 forms to fill out and the problem went away. I was not owed a refund so that could be why it was so painless. This is a huge and expensive problem for the IRS/taxpayer. It would not suprise me to find that much of this fraud comes from overseas. We have some pretty good fraudsters here in the US but the scale of the problem indicates an organized effort rather than a mom and pop style.

Not always overseas. Just greedy people.

"Brigitte Jackson thought she was getting a whopping $94 million tax refund. What she got was arrested. Jackson had put in a fraudulent tax return claiming she made $99 million in wages and thus she claimed she was due a refund worth $94,323,148."

Georgia Woman Tried To Cash A $94 Million Tax Refund Check | MadameNoire

You won't hear much of it in the news but its rampant. The IRS is unable or incompetent to put control measures against much of this. For all we know, some rogue employee(s) could be pulling some strings too.

Same goes for the largest health or auto insurers. Way behind the curve. Have a hunch we're just seeing a small part of what some big hack damage is coming. I'm only mentioning this as I know firsthand of a couple dealing with what the OP is experiencing and part 2, know someone very well with ins. data security. Big corp. America is slooooow to invest in securing customer data. The breaches are incredible..... and like I mentioned, you just don't hear of it.

+1 exactly.

Oh you too? Did you find out when E-filing? Watch out for new debit card(s) opened in your name... this is how they plan on withdrawing your refund. They have your name, address and SSN, so they can open one. Thankfully mine came to my new address (thank you USPS) and made me aware something was going on...

The IRS will contact you shortly if they have not, and let you know they're investigating (not auditing, just investigating), and you need to file your return with a form stating identity theft (if you already filed then send it separately). You will eventually get a special pin # for future filing, and your return will take 6 months + to process...

I also went ahead and put a freeze on my credit via the big 3 agencies... No damage done yet. That's $10 each, and you can lift the freeze when you need to borrow (using a pin) - a great idea anyway, even to unaffected folks. I verified a week later with credit Karma and indeed they could not get in to check my credit, locked tight as a tick (you don't need lifelock).

Welcome to the 1 million people club ! So many employers/busineses losing our data, it's a miracle it does not affect everyone ! My accountant was very non-plussed about it, says he filed 3 per day that bounced that way ! Just do your due diligence with credit now...

I said that backwards. If I am not writing a check in April, I planned it out wrong.

I have not gotten a refund since I was waiting tables. Yeah, need to freeze my credit today.

That sucks...my info was hacked with the OPM recent Chinese hack of up to 18 million Americans.
WTF.

Pretty sure this is from when Anthem's lack of security let a few million cats out of the bag

Add me to that list. And I don't have much faith that it will get more secure in the near future. Hope you get it squared away OK.

Last week the wife found out that she was filing for unemployment - maybe just a coincidence after OPM shared her info?

Such a friggin hassle!

I hear unemployment pays well though - maybe she'll just go with it and give up that scientist thing...

Me, too. I really don't care, though. Just keep an eye on my credit; I have all the alerts set up if somebody tries to open an account in my name. It's just the world we live in, now. That's why my agency is pushing to get all data in DoD encrypted, instead of just using network protections. Since we're hacked oh...a couple hundred times a day, not encrypting our data is purely idiotic.

/\ I usually end up getting 15-25K back between feds and state every year. If someone files a false return, they can get this money instead of me.

Yet another reason to not pay taxes ahead. I have no idea why anyone gets excited to get a refund- it means you gave the govt a free loan. I always owe a ton in April. If someone files for me, they are not going to be happy.

Whether you owe or are owed a refund in real life, you are still supposed to file via regular mail instead - nothing changes. The only difference is if you expected a refund, it will now come after the investigation, 6+ months later... If you owed, it has little impact other than knowing someone out there can open bank accounts and CC in your name.

Again, I recommend everyone freeze their credit, it's not as dire as it sounds, you unfreeze it when needed.... In this day and age, at least 5 or 6 sources have lost *your* information (doctor, med insurance, a car dealer, a credit card co., Target, the gov't, your employer, your ex-employer, etc...)

Same thing happened to me. IRS is well aware. ,will add 6 months to your return. We also out a hold on our credit, mthismissue is rampant. Lots of people I know have had it happen.

You might not realize - when a false return is filed - all of the numbers they use are made up.

They can submit a return with half your "actual" income and claim they paid in three times your "actual" withholding. Bammo - they just earned a tax return about 5 or 6 times what YOU would have gotten back!

If one is not going to be applying for a loan, mortgage, etc, for a while - is there any harm in putting a freeze on your credit score for an extended period of time?

AFAIK, it's just a freeze on institutions checking your Credit history, without which they won't give you time of day, let alone open a new account. So no, it won't impact your history, and you can lift the freeze prior to opening new accounts or loans, and put it back on after they checked...
If anyone knows otherwise, do tell.... Either way I'm leaving it on ;-)

even if applying, you can get a one-time pass-code to give to whom ever you want to run credit check.