According to a news report regarding the Internal Revenue Service, tax-related identity theft has grown several times over a four year period. National Taxpayer Advocate Nina Olson reports that her office handled 644 percent more identity theft cases for 2007 than they did for 2004. Identity thieves have used stolen Social Security numbers to obtain fraudulent employment or refunds.
However, the IRS's efforts to combat the problem seem to be doing more harm to the victim than good. One of these efforts includes delayed or frozen refunds for legitimate taxpayers or collection actions against them.
Clearly, the IRS stands to lose a lot from identity theft, and more preventive measures need to be taken. However, punishing the victim for the crime is not the answer.
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