Tax payers are faced with an increasing amount of scams which are financially dangerous. One of the more common scams tax payers encounter is identity theft. An identity thief is someone who uses your personal information such as your name, social security number, or other identifying information without permission. An identity thief will fight to file a fraudulent tax return to claim a refund.
The IRS is very concerned about various types of identity theft.

The IRS has drastically improved their identity theft fraud prevention systems. This IRS system is based on a three pronged effort that includes fraud prevention, early detection, and victim assistance. The IRS has over 3,000 employees working on identity theft cases.

If you think that you are being subject to identity theft, you should contact the IRS immediately. This will help the IRS to take action to secure the tax account.

The IRS will have you fill out IRS Form 14039, which is an identity theft affidavit and submit it with a paper copy of your return. Your case may be moved to the Identity Theft Victim Assistance Organization (IDTVA). After the IRS investigation they will process your accurate return and refund after a 120 day period. You will receive an IRS identity protection personal identification number to guard against a repeat attempt by an identity thief to steal your next tax return.