Those who are victims of identity theft for tax refund fraud face numerous challenges. One of them is that should the victim attempt to obtain a copy of the fraudulent return to get information on the identity thief, the IRS refuses to release it – for privacy reasons! That may be changing, though. Keri Geiger and Margaret Collins report:
The Internal Revenue Service has introduced a formal policy to assist identity-theft victims in getting copies of bogus tax returns filed in their name.
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The IRS, which posted instructions for fraud victims on its website for the first time this month, said it would acknowledge requests for copies of returns within 30 days and respond within 90 days. Due to strict IRS privacy laws, some of the information will be redacted to prevent fraud.
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