WASHINGTON – Last year in the Hudson
Valley alone, 8,336 people were victims of tax refund fraud and US Senator
Charles Schumer Wednesday announced legislation to speed up the process
for persons to recover stolen returns.
Schumer said hackers and fraudsters only need pieces of a taxpayer’s
personal information, such as their Social Security Number, to submit
a fake tax return and unlawfully claim a refund.
This new legislation would create a single point of contact for a fraud
victim at the IRS and would require the IRS to issue an individual’s
stolen refund within an average of 90 days after a taxpayer has reported
the crime. Now it can take an average of 300 days.
Schumer said the legislation would also help crack down on future fraud
by requiring the Treasury Department to issue policies to ensure that
paid tax preparers institute identity verification that isn’t just
a clients SNN. It would also increase the penalties on tax refund fraud
and require that tax account numbers on pre-paid debit cards be distinguishable
from a regular bank account.
