Residents Find Someone Already Claimed Their IRS Refund

A Potomac Drive man went to police with a disturbing report Feb. 14: He earned that someone had filed an income tax return with his Social Security number.

The next day, a DeWitt Drive resident went to police with a similar report.

They won't be the last to find their personal information has been used to file a tax return with the IRS.

"We get a lot of identity theft (reports) at tax time," Detective Lt. John Janowski said.

Janowski said con artists file a 1040 form online, using the name and Social Security number of an unsuspecting victim.

"They make the numbers up so they get a refund," he said. "In the meantime, if you're waiting for a refund, it gets stalled."

A news release from the IRS says identity theft cases are the most common -- and among the most complicated -- refund schemes it deals with.

"The IRS is increasingly seeing identity thieves looking for ways to use a legitimate taxpayer’s identity and personal information to file a tax return and claim a fraudulent refund," the news release says.

The agency says it has stepped up its internal reviews to spot fraudulent returns. 

Anyone who believes his or her personal information has been used on a tax document should contact the IRS Identity Protection Specialized Unit. For more information, visit the special identity theft page at IRS.gov/identitytheft.