The proactive efforts by the Indiana Department of Revenue (DOR) to prioritize its tax refund fraud and identity theft prevention program has resulted in a drastic halt in increased fraud attempts as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In a single day, April 8, 2020, DOR’s fraud team identified and stopped $275,000 in individual tax refund fraud. In addition, the team identified several tax preparers who were targeted by fraudsters and assisted by putting preventive measures in place to safeguard their information.
“Regardless of the time of year or volume of attempts made by scammers, DOR is ‘business as usual’ for our best-in-class identity protection and fraud prevention team,” said DOR Commissioner Bob Grennes. “Unfortunately, while Hoosiers are dealing with the current health crisis, bad actors are attempting to increase their scam activity including refund fraud. We advise all customers to be extremely vigilant when it comes to securing their personal or financial information.
“The entire DOR team cares deeply about serving Hoosiers, and this is a time when we have doubled down on our commitment to serve.”
DOR’s tax fraud program has stopped over $140 million in fraud since its inception in 2014 by detecting fraud before tax returns enter the financial system—resulting in less fraudulent refunds being processed and paid. The most common form of tax fraud occurs when an individual or business entity willfully and intentionally falsifies information on a tax return to limit the amount of tax owed.
- For more information regarding DOR’s tax fraud program and how to prevent or report tax fraud, visit dor.in.gov/4792.htm.
- For more information regarding how to prevent falling victim to ID theft and ways to identify ID theft, visit dor.in.gov/4794.htm.
Customers with tax questions are encouraged to call the Customer Service team at 317-232-2240, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. – 4:30 p.m., EST.d
