What Is Stolen Identity Refund Fraud?
What is SIRF?
A tax refund is as much an asset as a diamond ring, and just as some thieves target jewelry stores, others specialize in stealing taxpayers’ identities in order to create fake tax returns that provide large refunds. The IRSIRS The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is the revenue & tax service of the United States federal government responsible for collecting taxes and administering the Internal Revenue Code (the main body of federal statutory tax law.) It is part of the Department of the Treasury and led by the Commissioner of Internal Revenue, who is appointed to a five-year term by the President of the United States. The duties of the IRS include providing tax assistance to taxpayers; pursuing and resolving instances of erroneous or fraudulent tax filings; and overseeing various benefits programs. Visit www.IRS.gov to learn more. is on the lookout for this kind of stolen identity refund fraud (SIRF), but you should be vigilant, too.
Thieves File a Tax Return in Your Name
Stealing tax refunds doesn’t require personal contact with victims. The thief obtains your name and Social Security number, then uses it to file an early tax return in your name, claiming a refund.
Often the first time you learn that your identity has been stolen for tax fraudFraud In law, fraud is intentional deception to secure unfair or unlawful gain (money or other assets), or to deprive a victim of a legal right. Fraud can violate civil law (e.g., a fraud victim may sue the fraud perpetrator to avoid the fraud or recover monetary compensation) or criminal law (e.g., a fraud perpetrator may be prosecuted and imprisoned by governmental authorities), or it may cause no loss of money, property, or legal right but still be an element of another civil or criminal wrong. The purpose of fraud may be monetary gain or other benefits, for example by obtaining a passport, travel document, or driver's license, or mortgage fraud, where the perpetrator may attempt to qualify for a mortgage by way of false statements. A fraud can also be a hoax, which is a distinct concept that involves deliberate deception without the intention of gain or of materially damaging or depriving a victim. is when you e-file your own tax return online and it is rejected because someone has already filed a return using your Social Security number. Or if you mail your return, get a notice from the IRS telling you another return has been filed under your Social Security number.
Social Security Number Is the Key
Your Social Security number is the key to filing a tax return. If you omit the number or reverse a few digits on your tax return, the IRS rejects it out of hand. Just so, the SSN is also the key to tax identity fraud.
Criminals intent on committing stolen identity refund fraud need your Social Security number to file a return in your name. They have developed various fraudulent schemes to obtain the information, including:
- Hacking data from agencies or businesses
- Impersonating IRS agents in phone calls to you seeking your SSN
- Pretending to be tax agents or bank officials in email requests to you for data
SIRF ALERT:
The IRS does not send unsolicited email, text messages or use social media to discuss your personal tax issues. If you receive a telephone call from someone claiming to be an IRS employee and demanding money, you should consult the IRS Tax Scams/Consumer Alerts webpage: http://www.irs.gov/uac/Tax-Scams-Consumer-Alerts. If you know you don’t owe taxes or have no reason to believe that you do, report the incident to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) at 1.800.366.4484 or at www.tigta.gov.
More About Stolen Identity Refund Fraud (SIRF)
SIRF crimes are often perpetrated by large criminalCriminal A criminal is any person who through a decision or act engages in a crime. This can be complicated, as many people break laws unknowingly, however, in our context, it is a person who makes a decision to engage in unlawful acts or to place themselves with others who do this. A criminal always has the ability to decide not to break the law, or if they initially engage in crime to stop doing it, but instead continues. enterprises with individuals at all stages of the scheme: those who steal Social Security Numbers (SSN) and other personal identifying information, those who file false returns with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), those who facilitate obtaining the refunds, and the masterminds who promote the schemes. These criminal enterprises are able to exploit the speed and relative anonymity of highly automated systems for storing personal information, preparing and filing tax returns electronically, and generating income tax refunds quickly—often in the form of electronic payments.
Identities used in SIRF crimes may be stolen from anywhere. For example, Stolen Identity Refund Fraud (SIRF) criminals have used Social Security Numbers stolen from hospitals, nursing homes, and public death lists, thereby exploiting some of the most vulnerable members of our communities, including the elderly, the infirm, and grieving families. However, everyone with a Social Security Number is potentially vulnerable to having his or her identity stolen. The IRS estimated that during the 2013 filing season alone, over 5 million tax returns were filed using stolen identities, claiming approximately $30 billion in refunds. The IRS was able to stop or recover over $24 billion of that total, or approximately 81% of the fraudulent claims.
Typically Stolen Identity Refund Fraud (SIRF) perpetrators file the false returns electronically, early in the tax filing season so that the IRS receives the false SIRF return before legitimate taxpayers have time to file their returns. The SIRF perpetrators arrange to have the refunds electronically transferred to debit cards or delivered to addresses where they can steal the refund out of the mail.
Stolen Identity Refund Fraud (SIRF) crimes cross state borders, and increasingly, national borders. Successfully prosecuting the wrongdoers involves a national strategy of information sharing and coordinated prosecution. The nationwide reach of the Tax Division’s centralized criminal tax enforcement and its ability to coordinate closely with every United States Attorney’s Office, and through them with local law enforcement and police, makes it possible for the Government to respond efficiently and forcefully to the explosion of SIRF crimes. As part of this effort, the Division has established an Advisory Board of experienced prosecutors to develop and implement uniform national policies for fighting SIRF crimes. The Tax Division also implemented expedited procedures for working with the United States Attorneys’ Offices on SIRF crimes to ensure the quickest possible investigation and prosecution of these cases and has worked with United States Attorneys’ Offices, the IRS, and other law enforcement agencies, to establish task forces in areas with a high concentration of SIRF crime. Additionally, the Division works closely with the IRS to quickly share information obtained from SIRF investigations and prosecutions, which the IRS can use to make it more difficult for the schemes to be successful by blockingBlocking Blocking is a technical action usually on social media or messaging platforms that restricts or bans another profile from seeing or communicating with your profile. To block someone on social media, you can usually go to their profile and select it from a list of options - often labeled or identified with three dots ••• the false claims for refunds from being paid.
Preventing Stolen Identity Refund Fraud (SIRF)
Take steps to prevent tax refund fraud. The first and most important step to protect your refund is to keep your Social Security number private:
- Never carry your Social Security card in your wallet or purse.
- Don’t give out your Social Security number or any other personal information over the phone, even if the caller claims to be from the IRS.
- Ignore and delete e-mails seeking your Social Security number even if they claim to be from the IRS or credit card companies.
Remember that banks, financial institutions and tax authorities won’t ask for this information in unexpected phone calls or emails. Moreover, they never threaten you with arrest or deportation if you refuse to provide the information they are asking for.
Dealing with Tax Identity Fraud
If you suspect you’ve been a victim of stolen identity tax refund fraud, the IRS is there to help you. It recommends that you take these steps immediately:
- Answer any IRS written notice you receive by calling the number provided on the notice or visiting IDVerify.irs.gov.
- Fill out IRS Form 14039, Identity TheftIdentity Theft Identity theft is when someone uses another person's personal identifying information, without their permission, to commit fraud or other crimes. In both the U.K. and the United States it is the theft of personally identifiable information. Identity theft deliberately uses someone else's identity as a method to gain financial advantages or obtain credit and other benefits, and perhaps to cause other person's loss. The person whose identity has been stolen may suffer adverse consequences, especially if they are falsely held responsible for the perpetrator's actions. Personally identifiable information generally includes a person's name, date of birth, social security number, driver's license number, bank account or credit card numbers, PINs, electronic signatures, fingerprints, passwords, or any other information that can be used to access a person's financial resources. Affidavit and attach it to your tax return.
- File tax returns and pay your taxes even as the fraud is being resolved.
- File a complaint with the FTCFTC The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is an independent agency of the United States government whose principal mission is the enforcement of civil (non-criminal) U.S. antitrust law and the promotion of consumer protection. The FTC can also act as a clearinghouse for criminal reports sent to other agencies for investigation and prosecution. To learn more visit www.FTC.gov or to report fraud visit ReportFraud.FTC.gov at identitytheft.gov.
- Place a fraud alert on your credit records by phoning one of the three principal credit agencies.
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This program is designed to help scam victims struggling to recover on their own and for those who want to understand the overall process. You can be using other resources, such as traumaTrauma Emotional and psychological trauma is the result of extraordinarily stressful events that shatter your sense of security, making you feel helpless in a dangerous world. Psychological trauma can leave you struggling with upsetting emotions, memories, and anxiety that won’t go away. It can also leave you feeling numb, disconnected, and unable to trust other people. Traumatic experiences often involve a threat to life or safety or other emotional shocks, but any situation that leaves you feeling overwhelmed and isolated can result in trauma, even if it doesn’t involve physical harm. It’s not the objective circumstances that determine whether an event is traumatic, but your subjective emotional experience of the event. The more frightened and helpless you feel, the more likely you are to be traumatized. Trauma requires treatment, either through counseling or therapy or through trauma-oriented support programs, such as those offered by SCARS. counselingCounseling Counseling is the professional guidance of the individual by utilizing psychological methods especially in collecting case history data, using various techniques of the personal interview, and testing interests and aptitudes. A mental health counselor (MHC), or counselor, is a person who works with individuals and groups to promote optimum mental and emotional health. Such persons may help individuals deal with issues associated with addiction and substance abuse; family, parenting, and marital problems; stress management; self-esteem; and aging. They may also work with "Social Workers", "Psychiatrists", and "Psychologists". SCARS does not provide mental health counseling. or therapy, qualified support groupsSupport Groups In a support group, members provide each other with various types of help, usually nonprofessional and nonmaterial, for a particular shared, usually burdensome, characteristic, such as romance scams. Members with the same issues can come together for sharing coping strategies, to feel more empowered and for a sense of community. The help may take the form of providing and evaluating relevant information, relating personal experiences, listening to and accepting others' experiences, providing sympathetic understanding and establishing social networks. A support group may also work to inform the public or engage in advocacy. They can be supervised or not. SCARS support groups are moderated by the SCARS Team and or volunteers., or completely independent – on your own!
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