Foxboro Residents Targeted In Tax Return Scam
FOXBORO (CBS) - Mark Sullivan thought any letter starting with "Dear Taxpayer" from the IRS couldn't be good, and it wasn't. "They said somebody fraudulently filed my tax return," said Sullivan.
The letter was notice that the IRS had flagged the return. Hackers got a hold of Sullivan's Social Security number hoping for a return. "They would have sent a check to whoever was responsible for the fraud."
The town of Foxboro is a common denominator in what looks like a widespread case of tax return fraud. Nearly two dozen people have complained to local police in a matter of days, and for some it was too late because a return was already sent to a fraudulent address.
For Sullivan, a self-employed contractor, it's cost him time and aggravation to set the record straight. "This has already taken 30 hours of my time, my wife's time calling creditors, cancelling credit cards," Sullivan said. "Somebody is doing it not just to my family but to a lot of families."
Mark Sullivan hadn't even filed his taxes yet, and was able to let the IRS know that before a check went in the mail, to someone. "It was very close, in a couple more days I would have filed my taxes and say I did file them. Lucky me that didn't happen."
Foxboro Police Chief Edward O'Leary says the cases now account for more than 15 percent of reported criminal activity in the town. He can't explain why so many in the town have been targeted, and says the victims filed their returns in many different ways, some electronically, and some through professional tax preparers.
Tax time is stressful enough and ironically for Sullivan, he just learned he's not supposed to get a return this year.