Posted by Shanice Cooper.
In an article by Forbes Magazine entitled, Fake IRS Agent Scam Targets Public, Even Feds, while Identity Theft Tax Fraud is Rampant, Robert Wood outlines the seemingly growing issue of identity theft. This particular article takes a close look at how horrible identity thieves are especially during the inevitable tax season.
Identity theft according to Wikipedia, occurs when someone uses another’s personal identifying information, like their name, social security number, address or credit card number, without their permission or knowledge, to commit fraud or other injurious crimes. Identity thieves use the tax season to their advantage and flourish in it by secretly getting individuals’ personal information. How do they do this? One way is by simply calling an unsuspecting person and asking for their social security number, and bank account data: “The plan is frighteningly simple. Steal Social Security numbers, file tax returns showing false refund claims, and have the refunds electronically deposited.” The person doing the crime would call an individual and impersonate a government official; they would intimidate the person into giving up their personal information. “There is also a massive phone scam in which an impostor claiming to work for the IRS calls and intimidates you. You need to pay right away, and many do.” The article gave two popular ways in which identity thieves often steal information, but there are other ways.
In most cases, the taxpayer finds out that their social security number has been tampered with once they attempt to file a real tax return. However, by the time most people realize that they have been dealing with an imposter, the thief is long gone and often times untraceable. This tax season alone has had over 100,000 people affected by tax scams and is going down as the worst year for scams. “[T]he Treasury inspector general has already received more than 366,000 complaints, more than 3,000 people have been conned out of a total of $15.5 million.” These are outstanding numbers of innocent people who are being victimized by identity theft and tax scamming.
In conclusion, I think identity theft is horrible and no one should have to worry about having their information tampered. I personally know of individuals who have been affected by identity theft and have had to go through incredibly long processes to recover their credit. “In January 2015, a Maryland woman and former bank employee, was sentenced to 87 months in prison for her role in a massive and sophisticated identity theft . . . seeking refunds of at least $40 million.” Once the fraudster is caught they are faced with a number of felonies. In the end, committing the crime is not worth it.
Shanice is a business administration major at Montclair State University, Class of 2016.