2012 Tax Return Fraud is Much Worse Than You Think

Waiting on your stolen tax return?  Don’t Hold your Breath!

Since my tax return was stolen and I had to mail out the paper version versus submitting it online I decided to call the IRS to see if there were any updates on my case.

Actually, I called them for two reasons.  One was to see if they have received my fraud affidavit and the other reason was to notify them of the recent letter I received in the mail.  Last Friday when I reached into my mailbox and pulled out the only letter in there I became excited because it was from the IRS.  I thought there may have been some information enclosed about my stolen tax return or at least notification that my mailed return was received.

I quickly tore the envelope open and began to read the enclosed message.  I was immediately stopped before I could even get to line two because the letter was not sent to me.  It had my complete address on it, but was in another person’s name whom I had never heard of and whom also had never resided at my address.   I have lived here for three years and the people who lived where I live now before I lived here also lived here for three years and their names were nothing close to who this letter was addressed to.

The letter was asking for additional information before they could release the addressee’s tax return.  I thought to myself “Wow”, “Not only has my tax return been stolen but someone Else’s tax return has been stolen and some idiot is trying to send it to my address to pick it up”.  Now if this isn’t a clear indicator as to how serious this situation has become then I don’t know what is.  Here I am with my tax return being sent somewhere else and here is someone Else’s tax return that has been stolen being sent to my address.  I mean statistically…What are the odds of this?

So…on Tuesday I called the IRS to both check on my status and to find out about this new “situation”.  I was told that they, the IRS, did not know if they had received my mailed return yet and then upon mentioning this letter I received was told that it was a completely different situation (by the way, I already knew that).  WOW….Oh yeah, I was also told that if I didn’t hear anything by November!! Yes, November!! To give them a call back.  Really?? November??  And then the very nice man went on to say, but if you don’t hear after November, definitely give us a call back if you haven’t heard anything after January.

What I would really love to know is what percentage of people actually get their stolen returns back and how long it usually takes?  I guess I should go ahead and heed my mother’s advice, “Shit in one hand and want in the other and see which gets full the quickest”.