Post by Logan on Mar 3, 2016 6:43:22 GMT -6
State intercepted $57 million headed to income tax fraudsters last year, vigilance urged
The perennial warning from the state Department of Revenue about potential evil-doers lying in cyber-wait to pillage your tax return of its refund came out recently, this year with a modest head pat.
“People are more aware now,” said Stephanie Marquis, DOR spokeswoman. “It is on their radar now much more than in the past. Not only do we keep putting the word out there, the taxpayers are contacting us more, asking ‘is this legitimate?’ We want people to do that.”
They do, and more than 1,000 calls per week come in from taxpayers with questions about identity fraud. More than 3 million income tax returns are expected this season. As of Wednesday, 1,089,555 returns, typically the majority for refunds, had been filed. The average refund so far is $620.
DOR begins counseling wariness early in the tax season via a public awareness push that features frequent news releases about people convicted of tax fraud and the warnings about identity theft.
Read more: host.madison.com/wsj/news/local/crime-and-courts/state-intercepted-million-headed-to-income-tax-fraudsters-last-year/article_ea1ce3af-c523-5110-9c3a-7bc03af0abd3.html
The perennial warning from the state Department of Revenue about potential evil-doers lying in cyber-wait to pillage your tax return of its refund came out recently, this year with a modest head pat.
“People are more aware now,” said Stephanie Marquis, DOR spokeswoman. “It is on their radar now much more than in the past. Not only do we keep putting the word out there, the taxpayers are contacting us more, asking ‘is this legitimate?’ We want people to do that.”
They do, and more than 1,000 calls per week come in from taxpayers with questions about identity fraud. More than 3 million income tax returns are expected this season. As of Wednesday, 1,089,555 returns, typically the majority for refunds, had been filed. The average refund so far is $620.
DOR begins counseling wariness early in the tax season via a public awareness push that features frequent news releases about people convicted of tax fraud and the warnings about identity theft.
Read more: host.madison.com/wsj/news/local/crime-and-courts/state-intercepted-million-headed-to-income-tax-fraudsters-last-year/article_ea1ce3af-c523-5110-9c3a-7bc03af0abd3.html