Fraudulent Tax Returns

One of the newest phishing schemes involving the IRS has been a criminal obtaining a taxpayer’s social security number and filing a fraudulent tax return resulting in a large tax refund. They file the return to hopefully obtain the refund using their direct deposit account they disclose on the return. Most of the time the IRS will question the large deductions and refund, so will send out a letter to the taxpayer saying they need to review the return before issuing the refund. In some cases the taxpayer had not yet filed the tax return, highlighting that someone had filed a fraudulent return. Please be aware of this scheme. If you receive any letters from the IRS in this nature and the amounts cited do not match the tax return you filed, please contact your partner here or the IRS immediately.