North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper is warning residents about identity thieves who are filing tax returns in order to claim another person’s refund.
WHQR’s Michelle Bliss reports that during this tax season, Cooper’s office has been hearing from up to 15 victims a week.
Cooper says the thieves will use a resident’s social security number to file fraudulent tax returns. Consumers usually don’t know they’re a victim of the scam until they try to file their taxes and learn from the IRS that someone else has already done the paperwork for them.
Cooper is also warning residents about email scams that commonly pop up before the April 15th deadline to file personal income taxes.
Residents have already reported fraudulent emails asking them to provide their bank account number so that the IRS can deposit their refund. Cooper says that the real IRS does not contact taxpayers by email.
If you come across these scams, contact the IRS Identity Protection Specialized Unit at 1-800-908-4490.
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