COLUMBUS, Ind. — A report from the U.S. Treasury Department says 1.1 million taxpayers were victims of identity theft between 2011 and 2015, but the Internal Revenue Service informed very few.
“Employment-related identity theft can cause significant burden to taxpayers, including the incorrect computation of taxes based on income they did not earn,” said J. Russell George, the Treasury inspector general for tax administration, whose office issued the report.
The definition of employment-related identity theft is someone using the social security number of another in order to gain employment. The IRS identifies the cases when electronic tax returns are filed with an individual taxpayer identification number that doesn’t match income documents associated with the social security number used.
Officials with the IRS say most cases of employment-related identity theft are tied to illegal immigrants seeking employment. The IRS has admitted to not informing the victims because they want the illegal immigrants to pay taxes.
The report says there was a pilot program to notify victims of identity theft in 2014, but it was cancelled because of lack of funds and other priorities. About 25,000 taxpaying victims of identity theft were notified as part of the pilot program.
In response to the report, the IRS says they will begin notifying victims in January of 2017.