What is Identity Theft Tax Refund Fraud?

Identity theft tax refund fraud occurs when identity thieves use stolen personal identifying information (PII) to file fraudulent tax returns to receive a tax refund check from the Department of Treasury. Identity thieves commonly steal PII through phishing scams, Dark Web auctions, hacking databases, installing malware, and employee unauthorized access.

Return to Taxing Subjects Frequently Asked Questions.

Related FAQs:

• What are the signs of identity theft tax refund fraud?
• What is Personally Identifiable Information?
• What are phishing scams?
• What is the Dark Web?
• What is the Deep Web?
• What is malware? 
• What is employee unauthorized access?
• What is a virtual private network?