Thread: Taxes
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Old 02-27-2012, 08:21   #18
Badger52
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BOfH View Post
Yup, for all the taxes we pay, tax fraud *was* as easy as knowing someones name and SSN. The issue is that criminals were filing fraudulent returns using valid (but stolen) identity data for large refund amounts and depositing it all in one or multiple accounts controlled by them[1][2]. The IRS has added some additional heuristic analysis[3] to return processing this year in order catch some of these scams, unfortunately the software has been known to slow down returns for early filers while the IRS tunes it[4].


[1]http://www.networkworld.com/news/2012/021712-irs-dirty-dozen-256313.html
[2]http://www.networkworld.com/news/2012/021012-irs-fraud-255983.html
[3]http://washingtontechnology.com/articles/2011/12/09/sas-assists-irs.aspx
[4]http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/breaking/chi-irs-software-upgrade-to-slow-refunds-to-early-filers-20120131,0,6280155.story
Thanks; that's clearer. So an effort to prevent fraud committed by multiple filings vs. suspected "fraud" committed by legitimate tax-payer because they were due back more of their tribute than in previous years.

Then again, a mating of the IRS and the word 'heuristic' has to give pause...
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