Report: IRS Issued $4 Billion In Fraudulent Refunds In 2012 To People Using Stolen Identities

[Purveyor]

Source: Associated Press

By Associated Press,
WASHINGTON — A Treasury report says the Internal Revenue Service issued $4 billion in fraudulent tax refunds last year to people using stolen identities.

Many refunds were sent overseas, including 655 sent to a single address in Lithuania.

The report by the agency’s inspector general says the IRS has stepped up efforts to fight identity theft, but thieves are getting more aggressive.

Last year, the IRS stopped more than $12 billion in fraudulent refunds from going to identity thieves. That’s up from $8 billion the year before.

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/courts_law/report-irs-issued-4-billion-in-fraudulent-refunds-in-2012-to-people-using-stolen-identities/2013/11/07/4208299e-47df-11e3-95a9-3f15b5618ba8_story.html

[legcramp]

1. The IRS remitted over 300 billion in refunds in 2012

300/4 =.01% error rate.

Couch change.

[randome]

2. That's what I would normally think, too. But 4 billion dollars? Wow.

You'd think they'd have some basic address cross-referencing system in place.
[hr][font color="blue"][center]There is nothing you can't do if you put your mind to it.
Nothing.[/center][/font][hr]

[Purveyor]

3. I remember when I was a kid in school that a 'billion' figure was almost unimaginable. Now a

trillion is tossed around like it is nothing.