RALEIGH, N.C. —
The North Carolina Attorney General’s office says as many as 15 victims have come forward saying they found out their identities were stolen when they tried to file their taxes.
Attorney General Roy Cooper says identity thieves are using stolen Social Security numbers to file fake tax returns in order to claim the victims’ refunds.
Consumers usually don’t know that they’re a victim of the scam until they try to file their tax returns and learn that someone has already filed in their name and claimed their refund.
As many as 15 victims have come forward and in most cases, the legitimate taxpayer is able to work with the IRS to straighten out their tax returns and get their refund.
If you suspect that someone has falsely filed taxes in your name:
- Contact the IRS Identity Protection Specialized Unit immediately at 1-800-908-4490.
- Check your credit reports for any unauthorized activity. You can get one free credit report per year from each of the three national credit bureaus at www.annualcreditreport.com.
- Request a fraud alert from any of the three national credit bureaus.
- Consider a security freeze to stop access to new credit in your name. NC residents can get security freezes for free online.
- File an ID theft complaint with the Federal Trade Commission.
Consumers should also be aware of emails claiming to come from the IRS. Some emails include very official looking IRS logos and claims that the recipient owes money and will face a penalty unless they click on a link for more information. Others tell people that they are owed money by the IRS and ask to provide bank account numbers to receive the refund. The real IRS does not contact taxpayers by email.
If you get a phishing email, do not respond, click on any links or provide any personal information. Phishing emails that claim to come from the IRS should be forwarded to phishing@irs.gov. Other phishing emails can be forwarded to the Federal Trade Commission at spam@uce.gov.