Internal Revenue Service (IRS)

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1. I’m the victim of identity theft and my tax refund was stolen.

Identity theft continues to be a recurring problem to Minnesotans and Americans in general. It is common for criminals to use stolen social security numbers to submit fraudulent tax returns in order to steal your tax refund. Luckily, the IRS is very responsive to identity theft victims and will work with you to ensure your tax account is correct and you rightfully get your refund. In order to assist the IRS in promptly resolving your case, please fill out IRS Form 14039 Identity Theft Affidavit and provide it to the IRS. The link to the form can be found here: http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f14039.pdf.

Identity theft has become increasingly common, and criminals now use stolen social security numbers to submit fraudulent tax returns in order to steal your refund. Fortunately, the IRS is very responsive to ID theft victims and will work with you to correct your tax account and get you your refund. Please make sure to fill out IRS Form 14039 Identity Theft Affidavit and provide it to the IRS. (http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f14039.pdf)

2. I’m the victim of identity theft. How can I bring these criminals to justice?

Every year there are thousands of identity theft cases that overwhelm the resources and means available for the IRS to indict all instances of identity theft. Since my office is unable to expedite the recovery of financial assets lost by identity theft victims, the best option remains working with the IRS to correct your tax account and take steps to make it certain your identity is never stolen again. Positive results can be yielded by utilizing other helpful resources such as by:

- Contacting local law enforcement

- Visiting the Federal Trade Commission website and filing a complaint: http://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0341-file-complaint-ftc

-Visiting the Federal Trade Commission Website’s section on ID theft: http://www.consumer.ftc.gov/features/feature-0014-identity-theft

- Contacting the IRS Identity Protection Specialized Unit at (800) 908-4490.

- Contacting the FBI’s IC3 complaint center: https://www.ic3.gov/default.aspx. You may also read more about IRS efforts to combat ID theft here: http://www.irs.gov/uac/Identity-Protection.

There are thousands of identity theft cases, and unfortunately, the IRS does not have the resources to prosecute every incident of identity theft. The best thing you can do is to work with the IRS to correct your tax account and take steps to help ensure your identity is not stolen again. You may also consider:

• Contacting local law enforcement
• Visiting the Federal Trade Commission website and filing a complaint: http://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0341-file-complaint-ftc
• Visiting the Federal Trade Commission Website’s section on ID theft: http://www.consumer.ftc.gov/features/feature-0014-identity-theft
• Contacting the IRS Identity Protection Specialized Unit at (800) 908-4490.
• Contacting the FBI’s IC3 complaint center: https://www.ic3.gov/default.aspxYou may also read more about IRS efforts to combat ID theft here: http://www.irs.gov/uac/Identity-Protection.