ID Validation – Personal
Income Tax Refund Fraud Prevention Efforts

Beginning with the 2014 income tax filing season,
the department instituted new security measures to identify and intercept
fraudulent refund filings.  As part of
this initiative to ensure refunds are issued only to their rightful owners,
taxpayers may be asked to confirm their identities before refunds are issued.

In such cases, the taxpayer will be contacted by the
department by way of a letter sent to the address on the taxpayer’s personal
income tax return. The letter from the department will instruct the taxpayer to
call a designated number, where the taxpayer will speak to a representative of
a company the department has partnered with for its expertise in identity
verification.  The taxpayer will be asked
to provide answers to questions to verify identity. Taxpayers who receive this
identity validation notice will authorize release of their refunds sooner if
they follow the instructions for verifying identity provided in the notice.