Easily available W-2 blanks and the seeming inability of the IRS to verify payroll information are two of the enabling factors of this type of fraud.
The recent report indicates that the IRS will start using a computer program to identify potential identity theft cases next year. It is also considering establishing an office to assist identity theft victims.
Olsen also plans to monitor the use of private debt collectors by the IRS, carefully. The reasons cited are a lack of transparency on the procedures used by these agencies and the potential for people's rights to be violated by these agencies.
Stories of identity theft victims being harassed by collections agencies for debts they were not responsible for are well documented and have caused innocent people a lot of pain and suffering.
Another thing to consider is that since this type of identity theft normally doesn't show up on a credit bureaus very quickly, we probably have a lot of people purchasing identity theft protection that will not necessarily detect the fact that they have become a victim. The Identity Theft Resource Center has information on how to check if your social security number is being used and what to do about it. The IRS also has a page on their site on how to deal with this issue.
The IRS also offers more information on their site about the Taxpayer Advocate Service and how they can assist the average person.
All in all, I consider this report timely and an issue that needs to be taken seriously given an already exploding statistic and the potential for this phenomenon to grow.
Article comments