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| IRS cracking down on identity theft, tax fraud |
| By azcentral.com - Robert Anglen |
| Published: 02/02/2012 |
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It is called identity theft, but it comes down to stolen tax refunds. The Internal Revenue Service announced a nationwide crackdown this week on thieves using pilfered identities to file tax returns and collect refunds that should be going to someone else. The IRS identified Phoenix as one of nine metropolitan areas at "high risk" for crimes involving tax-refund scams, along with cities such as Atlanta, Chicago and Los Angeles. And officials confirmed Wednesday that as many as five metro Phoenix residents soon will face arrest or indictment as part of a federal sweep that has already led to 939 charges against 105 people across the country. One of those accused is a former Arizona prison inmate who IRS officials say tapped California death records to file 34 fake tax returns and collect $279,000. There is no single type of tax-refund scam, Special Agent James McCormick of the IRS criminal division in Arizona said. Indictments accuse prisoners, tax preparers and government employees, including mail carriers, of being involved in identity theft for the purpose of filing fake tax returns. And they use various systems, including filing in the names of dead, fictional or actual taxpayers. "Nobody thinks about ID theft and taxes," McCormick said. "These guys are using fake ID to obtain refunds." Read More. |
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