Police in Double Oak have taken three reports this year of residents' tax returns being rejected by the IRS due to someone else filing under the person’s identity.
Chief Derrick Watson said in all the cases the residents go to file their personal tax returns online only to find out someone else has already done so posing as them.
One of the victims, Art Fleming, said he’s heard of this scheme occurring elsewhere but never expected it to hit the small community of only about 1,000 homes, especially three times.
"I e-filed that night through Turbo Tax and about a half hour later I got a rejection letter that said from the IRS," said Fleming, who’s lived in Double Oak since the late 1980s, and who immediately called the IRS to investigate what had happened.
"The gal on the other side said, 'Yeah, somebody has already filed a return using that Social Security number,'" said Fleming.
A simple web search on the topic reveals reports of incidents from across the country where this scheme has taken place. Someone gains access to your Social Security number and information and then files a tax return under it with false information to then get refund money from the federal government.
Victims like Fleming aren’t even aware anything is wrong until after they try to file their real taxes and are denied by the IRS.
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"You've got to call Social Security, you've got to call FTC, you've got to call your bank, you've got to do fraud alerts," said Fleming. “The frustration is huge and the feeling of violation is huge as well."
Fleming and the police both reported the crimes to federal authorities. Fleming hopes they can track down the source of the leak that lead to his information being stolen as well as the person who took it.
However, that second part may be tough.
Watson said the crime seems to be very difficult to track and the schemer could really be doing it from anywhere.
"We don't know if this is extra national activity or if this is organized crime rings here in the United States. We just don't know,” said Watson.
Watson said if you do find that you’re a victim of the scheme to immediately file a report with police and and IRS so you can begin working to undo the problem and getting your proper taxes filed. It’s also recommended people file early to get their taxes in before anyone else even has a chance to fraudulently file.
Fleming said he’s been informed it could take between three to six months before he ever sees his actual refund as he now has to take care of the problem and prove his filing is the real one.
