IRS has released information this week about the latest twist on identify theft related tax scams. This scam involves thieves who access personal client information from preparers, and then submit fraudulent tax returns claiming a refund. The funds arrive via direct deposit in a legitimate bank account. The thieves then pounce on the unsuspecting refund recipient, leaving messages detailing how the IRS has issued an erroneous refund and in order to correct the situation the individual must send the cash to a collection agency. Some versions of the scam threaten criminal prosecution; others threaten a so-called blacklisting of the individual’s social security number.
IRS notes that new versions of the scam are appearing; it all stems, however, from thieves compromising personal information from a preparer’s client files. Earlier this month, IRS reminded preparers on ways to secure data.
All of this reminds me about the generational shift in tax preparation and filing and how technology has changed the dynamics, mostly for the better but in its wake creating 21st century problems and legal issues. We have discussed the effects of this shift, including recently in Delinquency Penalties: Boyle in the Age of E-Filing, where we looked at an amicus brief the ACTC filed in Haynes v US. That case tees up if a taxpayer who uses an authorized e-filer expecting that the return be timely filed can avoid a delinquency penalty if in fact there was an error in the processing of the e-filed return but the IRS or the preparer did not notify the taxpayer of the error in time to fix the glitch.
For more on the changes in tax administration relating to the shift, I recommend a review of the Electronic Tax Administration Advisory Committee (ETAAC) annual reports; recently that group has shifted its focus to more directly include security issues generally and identity theft tax refund fraud in particular. The 2017 report discusses what IRS, working with private sector and other government partners, has done and its progress in recent years. As this week’s IRS news release indicates, IRS efforts to secure the tax system from creative and motivated thieves is a little bit like whack a mole; one scam disappears and a new one pops up in its place.
About Leslie Book
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