Fed Tax E File Rejected - somebody already filed using my SS number - what to do?

[Sunset]

I don't know but I thought the IRS solved this problem already because I believe the same problem happened last year.


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No worries, it's just taxpayer money.... no loss....

They should deduct $1 per fraudulent tax refund given from every IRS employee, then they would pay attention.

 

[Sunset]

So why not file a $1 return on Jan 1 with just your W2 info and then file an amended return sometime in March/April when you have your forms. This way your SS# will already have record of being filed.

Doesn't most tax software give you like 5 free filings?

Because then the IRS will enforce the rules (since this would embarrass them) and charge you with filing a false return, since you know there is more to come.

Otherwise you could Jan 1st file an empty return, since you probably have no paperwork, and later file an amended.

 

[Al in Ohio]

Don't blame the IRS when the real fault lies with the identity thief. If you had a pot of gold in a private swiss bank vault and someone stole your passcode and emptied it out, would you blame the swiss bank or the thief?


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[Fermion]

Don't blame the IRS when the real fault lies with the identity thief. If you had a pot of gold in a private swiss bank vault and someone stole your passcode and emptied it out, would you blame the swiss bank or the thief?


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The problem is, the IRS is like a bank with no passcode or even a realistic check for ID.

I blame both, but mostly the IRS. I can vote with my feet on the bank and bank elsewhere. I can't choose which entity to pay my USA taxes.

 

[Al in Ohio]

They do. Its called your SSN. That's your passcode. Some get stolen. Blame the thief who stole it. And if yours has not been compromised, protect it the best you can. Besides the thief, you might next turn your scorn to medical records holders etc that know your code, and fail to keep it secure.


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[Fermion]

They do. Its called your SSN. That's your passcode. Some get stolen. Blame the thief who stole it. And if yours has not been compromised, protect it the best you can. Besides the thief, you might next turn your scorn to medical records holders etc that know your code, and fail to keep it secure.


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Again, if my bank made me use a 9 digit code for my password and would not let me change it for 45 years (so far), I would switch banks.

 

[Gone4Good]

Don't blame the IRS when the real fault lies with the identity thief. If you had a pot of gold in a private swiss bank vault and someone stole your passcode and emptied it out, would you blame the swiss bank or the thief?

I blame the thieves first and foremost. But if the Swiss bank vault door is left swinging open with nary a guard in sight I'm going to blame the Swiss bank too.

It's asinine that the IRS isn't staffed well enough to be able to do even cursory check of of corroborating documentation before releasing refunds. Seriously, they have all the information we have. There's no reason this kind of fraud should happen ever.

 

[meierlde]

I blame the thieves first and foremost. But if the Swiss bank vault door is left swinging open with nary a guard in sight I'm going to blame the Swiss bank too.

It's asinine that the IRS isn't staffed well enough to be able to do even cursory check of of corroborating documentation before releasing refunds. Seriously, they have all the information we have. There's no reason this kind of fraud should happen ever.

One way to eliminate a good bit would involve delaying refunds until w-2 and 1099s are in the IRS hands (March 31). Then you could compare returns with the info gathered But that would likely mean that refunds would start coming out in may, and that would inconvenience many folks.

 

[Gone4Good]

One way to eliminate a good bit would involve delaying refunds until w-2 and 1099s are in the IRS hands (March 31). Then you could compare returns with the info gathered But that would likely mean that refunds would start coming out in may, and that would inconvenience many folks.

I think that's a great idea and it shouldn't be any inconvenience at all. Those folks just need to stop withholding so much and stop looking at refunds as found money. I know that's a lot to ask for but

 

[harley]

They do. Its called your SSN. That's your passcode. Some get stolen. Blame the thief who stole it. And if yours has not been compromised, protect it the best you can. Besides the thief, you might next turn your scorn to medical records holders etc that know your code, and fail to keep it secure.

And what about the fact that the IRS systems get hacked over and over, allowing the SSNs and the pins and all other required information to be accessed and sold. I worked in network security in a large megacorp, and we were much more diligent in protecting our customer information than the IRS seems to be. They should have the most secure systems of any organization, perhaps other than the military. They aren't even trying.

 

[Sunset]

Don't blame the IRS when the real fault lies with the identity thief. If you had a pot of gold in a private swiss bank vault and someone stole your passcode and emptied it out, would you blame the swiss bank or the thief?....

Sure the thief is to blame, but so is the IRS for leaving the keys in the car with the motor running.

The IRS could simply compare last years return with the current year return, a legit return will have many things in common (which a thief will not know).
Any return with sudden large changes (which a thief uses to get large refunds) could be flagged and refund withheld, and send a letter to ask for proof.

How can you not blame the IRS when they send thousands of refunds to the exact same address, seriously how many taxpayers can live in 1 apt ??

These are all simple checks that computer programs can do instantly.

 

[dixonge]

This article is a couple of years old, but I found it interesting:

Identity theft tax refund fraud

This is a big part of the problem:

Of course, the IRS keeps records of earned wages and other types of taxable income reported by taxpayers’ employers and other organizations. However, the IRS doesn’t match these records to information submitted electronically by identity thieves until several months after it issues refund checks.

How is it that this hasn't been fully automated for at least a decade? The same for every other form submitted by a 3rd party. If it has my SS# on it, it should be matched or rejected automatically, especially if I'm e-filing.

 

[dixonge]

There is no e-fling of amended returns. They are all paper filed.

-gauss

And the refunds, if any, are by check only, as I understand. So much for *that* strategy

 

[MrLoco]

I tell you this....the scum who steal other people's identity or commit fraud...if caught and found guilty should be EXECUTED! These vermin are not even human. Absolute trash who are worthless and contribute absolutely nothing to society.

Imagine if you are in the process of buying a house and your loan application is rejected because criminals have taken out huge amounts of credit in your name? Not to mention the endless hours you will need to spend on the phone cleaning up this mess and the endless paperwork involved. COuld take years to resolve. Exterminate the vermin.

 

[spncity]

Wow - what a hassle for Disappointed and others!

So - is the collective wisdom here to do the following (prevention strategy) since I can't get taxes done early (waiting on some info that is not available until Mid-March):

1. Manufacture and file a tax return in which I owe no taxes, and maybe get a very low refund of $5 asap after January 1st, and

2. Complete an amended return (final) by April 15th...?

Thanks for any comments.

 

[REWahoo]

1. Manufacture and file a tax return in which I owe no taxes, and maybe get a very low refund of $5 asap after January 1st, and

I'd urge caution here, especially when it comes to "manufacturing" a tax return.

While I also follow a "file early to beat the crooks" strategy, I'm not comfortable in doing so before early to mid February when I have almost all of my information. That way any amended return I need to file isn't a major change, thus less likely to get the attention of the IRS.

 

[braumeister]

What boggles my mind is that I've read about some of these fraudsters filing hundreds of phony returns that all have the refunds sent to the exact same address.

If that isn't something the IRS should be able to spot automatically, then it is utterly incompetent and someone ought to be held criminally liable.

 

[Corporateburnout]

Meanwhile it's been a month since I e filed and my return was accepted by the IRS but I'm still waiting for my refund. I guess I'm one of the 10% of e filers who don't get their refunds in less than 21 days. The "where is my refund" site states that it's still being processed.

Hopefully the reason for the delay is that my return is being scrutinized because of a 75% reduction in income (my first full year of retirement) and a substantial 401K rollover to an IRA.

I actually don't care if I don't receive my refund until May as long as the process is done accurately with W2s and 1099s as well as other records are matched to reduce the risk of fraud.

 

[audreyh1]

It's bad! Crooks are filing by Feb 2nd. How can even aggressive early filers beat that?

Last week, this blog told the story of Becky Wittrock, a certified public accountant (CPA) from Sioux Falls, S.D., who received an IP PIN in 2014 after crooks tried to impersonate her to the IRS. Wittrock said she found out her IP PIN had been compromised by thieves this year after she tried to file her tax return on Feb. 25, 2016. Turns out, the crooks beat her to the punch by more than three weeks, filing a large refund request with the IRS on Feb. 2, 2016.

Latest from Krebs: IRS Suspends Insecure ‘Get IP PIN’ Feature http://krebsonsecurity.com/2016/03/irs-suspends-insecure-get-ip-pin-feature/

The IRS has already suspended KBA type questions for retrieving IRS transcripts last year because >600,000 people had their tax records fraudulently accessed this way!!!

I didn't realize you could still retrieve your special Tax ID Fraud IP PIN online! I thought people had to call in to get the PIN and answer those questions - still very faulty. It's hard to believe they still relied on this mechanism after it compromised so many people last year and allowed so many fraudulent returns to be filed. Why wouldn't thieves use the same mechanism to get people's special IP PINs if they were using the same insecure mechanism?!?!?

The questions asked are ridiculous - what county do you live in, make of car you drive, - these are things easily googled. If someone has your address, DOB, and social security number they have everything they need to find out a lot more about you and your credit history.

 

[audreyh1]

Meanwhile it's been a month since I e filed and my return was accepted by the IRS but I'm still waiting for my refund. I guess I'm one of the 10% of e filers who don't get their refunds in less than 21 days. The "where is my refund" site states that it's still being processed.

Hopefully the reason for the delay is that my return is being scrutinized because of a 75% reduction in income (my first full year of retirement) and a substantial 401K rollover to an IRA.

I actually don't care if I don't receive my refund until May as long as the process is done accurately with W2s and 1099s as well as other records are matched to reduce the risk of fraud.

One big problem is that the IRS is required by law to process returns and refund money way in advance of having the information by employers and financial institutions to verify the return. So it's a send refund, verify later situation. This is a major contributor to the current situation in that it gives the fraudsters a huge opportunity to take advantage of the lack of verification.

That and sending money to VISA gift cards.

 

[audreyh1]

Hmmm - Turbotax strongly suggests we supply our driver's license numbers as part of filing to help combat any potential fraud. First I have heard of this.

 

[audreyh1]

This article is a couple of years old, but I found it interesting:

Identity theft tax refund fraud

This is a big part of the problem:



How is it that this hasn't been fully automated for at least a decade? The same for every other form submitted by a 3rd party. If it has my SS# on it, it should be matched or rejected automatically, especially if I'm e-filing.

Because the IRS does not receive that information from the companies until months after an early filer someone has filed a return. It's a real problem. Companies provide W2 information to employees way before the IRS gets the same.

 

[easysurfer]

I e-filed my taxes today using Turbotax and did go through the license part. I almost made the mistake of e-filing but not supplying my protection PIN that I received via snail mail. I stepped through close to when to e-file waiting for a box to enter my PIN when I decided to do a search on the protection PIN. Ends up entering the PIN is in a section of other tax items which I overlooked. I am glad to say that my fed e-file did get accepted .

 

[REWahoo]

Hmmm - Turbotax strongly suggests we supply our driver's license numbers as part of filing to help combat any potential fraud. First I have heard of this.

H&R Block tax software also recommended we supply our TDL#s when we filed last month. Happy to do so if it helps stop fraud.

 

[audreyh1]

I just submitted my Fed Tax Return through TurboTax this morning and received an email stating that my return was rejected

"This return was rejected by the IRS because the taxpayer's identification number assigned to this return has already been filed and accepted by the IRS ?"

This is not good. Looks like somebody already filed under my SS?

Advice please! How to contact the IRS and how to correct this problem?

Thanks,
MP

This Turbotax article tells you how to contact the IRS and report the problem:
https://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-too...ing-Your-Social-Security-Number/INF23035.html